The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated nine individuals in Lebanon for obstructing the peace process in Lebanon and impeding the disarmament of Hizballah. These Hizballah-aligned officials include individuals embedded across Lebanon’s parliament, military, and security sectors, where they seek to preserve the Iran-backed terrorist group’s influence over key Lebanese state institutions. Hizballah’s continued militant activity and coercive influence over the Lebanese state undermine the Lebanese government’s ability to assert its authority over state institutions and disarm the terrorist group.
“Hizballah is a terrorist organization and must be fully disarmed,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in statement on May 21.
Hizballah relies on a network of political representatives, including members of parliament, to advance the group’s interests and defy the government’s legitimate calls for Hizballah to disarm and respect the sovereignty of the state.
Mohamed Abdel-Mottaleb Fanich leads Hizballah’s executive council and is responsible for reorganizing the terrorist group’s administrative and institutional structure in furtherance of Hizballah’s mission of maintaining an armed presence in Lebanon. Fanich has been a member of Hizballah since the terrorist organization was first established and has held multiple leadership positions within the group. He was elected to Lebanon’s parliament as part of Hizballah’s Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc in 1992 and later appointed as Minister of Youth and Sports.
Hassan Nizammeddine Fadlallah has represented Hizballah as one of the group’s elected members of the Lebanese parliament since 2005. Long-time Hizballah official Ibrahim al-Moussawi is currently the head of Hizballah’s Media Committee and one of Hizballah’s elected representatives in parliament.
Similarly, Hussein Al-Hajj Hassan has been a Hizballah member since 1982 and represented Hizballah as a member of the Lebanese parliament since 1996. In his role as a public representative of Hizballah, Hassan has been a key figure opposing the disarmament of the terrorist group.
Ahmad Asaad Baalbaki and Ali Ahmad Safawi are both security officials of the Amal Movement (Amal), a political ally and security partner of Hizballah. Baalbaki is the Amal Security Director and coordinated public displays of force with Hizballah leadership to intimidate Hizballah’s political opponents in Lebanon.
Hizballah has also received illicit support from within Lebanon’s legitimate security organizations, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and General Directorate for General Security (DGS).
Secretary Bessent said the Treasury Department “will continue to take action against officials who have infiltrated the Lebanese government and are enabling Hizballah to wage its senseless campaign of violence against the Lebanese people and obstruct lasting peace.”