The United States reclassified Hezbollah on Thursday and said it would pursue Iranian financing networks that support the group, while Iran's foreign ministry condemned the sanctions as economic terrorism.
The US State Department announced that Washington had reclassified Hezbollah, stating that Iran has used the group for decades to spread terrorism and support the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force. The Treasury Department simultaneously added new sanctions designations targeting 10 individuals said to be involved in transferring funds or providing financial services connected to Hezbollah and the Quds Force. State Department officials said the group acts as Iran's agent rather than a resistance movement and constitutes an obstacle to Lebanese sovereignty and stability.
A State Department official accused Hezbollah of dragging Lebanon into two devastating wars and said the group operates as an Iranian proxy that does not respect Lebanese sovereignty. The official stated that the US has documented what he called financial and logistical integration between Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guard, characterising the group's operations as an extension of Guard activities. He said Washington documented that Iran exercises significant control over Hezbollah and uses it as a tool to advance its regional policies.
Treasury Department officials said the Quds Force has transferred more than one billion dollars to Hezbollah since January 2025, according to US government estimates, with most funds flowing through money exchange companies and remittance networks. The new sanctions target individuals accused of using shell companies, money changers, and regional transfer networks to move funds and circumvent banking restrictions. The State Department said it will continue pursuing the money transfer networks, trade connections, and financing structures that it identifies as part of the Iranian support apparatus for Hezbollah.
The reclassification marks an expansion of the legal framework available to Washington to pursue individuals, companies, and financial networks connected to Hezbollah. The State Department has designated Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organisation since 1997, and Treasury added designations under Executive Order 13224 in 2001. The new sanctions add designations based directly on the group's relationship with the Iranian government and the Quds Force.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Thursday that Washington is preparing to impose what he described as the harshest sanctions in history on Iran as part of an escalating economic strategy intended to weaken Iran's ability to finance its allies and regional activities. The broader American pressure campaign reflects an attempt to force Tehran to recalculate its political calculations.
Iran's Foreign Ministry rejected the sanctions, calling them economic terrorism and a crime against humanity for which perpetrators will be held accountable. The ministry said the sanctions demonstrate the arrogance of the American administration and its violation of international law. It characterised the measures as a policy that has proven to fail and said their repetition will only result in further failure.
The Iranian foreign ministry stated that the sanctions reflect American failure to achieve its objectives in two wars waged against Iran. It said Tehran will remain steadfast in defending its national security and national interests while confronting political, economic, and military attacks. The ministry called on the American administration and those who designed and implement the sanctions to bear the consequences of their actions.
Vice President of the United States stated that America had broken Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz, asserting that Tehran can no longer use one of the world's most important oil transport routes as a weapon. This claim reflects the Trump administration's broader framing of its Iran policy as restoring American strategic dominance in the region.
The escalation comes as Washington pursues multiple channels to pressure Iran simultaneously. In February, the Treasury Department targeted companies and networks it said help Hezbollah convert reserves and profits from commercial activities into usable funds, linking those activities to financial and commercial cooperation with Iran. State Department officials have sought to emphasise the connection between Hezbollah's operations and direct Iranian government control as justification for the expanding sanctions architecture.
The sanctions and reclassification represent an attempt to constrain the financial flows that support Hezbollah's operations in Lebanon and the region. By targeting money transfer networks and individuals involved in facilitating payments, Washington aims to disrupt the mechanisms through which Tehran funds its regional proxy. The strategy assumes that financial pressure will limit both Hezbollah's operational capacity and Iran's ability to sustain its broader regional activities.
