The United States Treasury has imposed a fresh round of sanctions on senior Lebanese political figures allied with Hezbollah and on a transnational business network accused of channelling millions of dollars to the group. Announced on Thursday, the designations by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) target Suleiman Franjieh, leader of the Marada Movement, and Mahmoud Qmati, deputy head of Hezbollah’s political council, alongside a web of companies and individuals operating in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Oman. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared that “Hezbollah must disarm if Lebanon is to have a secure and prosperous future,” signalling that Washington will continue to pursue the group’s financial infrastructure.

Viewed from Washington, the action is a calibrated escalation of a campaign that began in March 2026 with sanctions on Lebanese businessman Alaa Hamieh. The new measures widen that net considerably. OFAC alleges that Franjieh leveraged his strategic alliance with Hezbollah to advance his political ambitions, receiving financial support in return for backing the group’s efforts to unseat reformist and independent MPs in Lebanon’s parliamentary elections. Qmati is accused of coordinating the smuggling of cash from Iran to Hezbollah and of acting on the group’s behalf inside Lebanon. The Treasury’s statement describes both men as having used their influence to obstruct Lebanon’s peace process and delay the disarmament of the militia.

The sanctions also map a complex commercial geography. At its centre is Hamieh, who alongside sanctioned associate Bahaa al-Din Hashem owns Globe Technology Providers SARL in Lebanon, described as the technical arm of the Syria-based, Hezbollah-linked Al-Ahd for Trade and Investment. According to the Treasury, contracts secured inside Syria in 2024 in cooperation with former regime officials and Hezbollah financial operatives generated nearly ten million dollars in revenue, profits that were distributed among Hezbollah-affiliated entities. The network extends to Globe International SPC in Oman, whose bank accounts were used to process hundreds of thousands of dollars in transfers tied to sanctioned projects, and to Al-Shafa Administrative Services Limited, an insurance management firm founded in Iraq in 2025 with the involvement of previously blacklisted individuals. A Lebanese company, Tyke SAL, originally established by Hamieh and later transferred to his brother, was also designated.

In Beirut, the sanctions land amid an already fraught debate over Hezbollah’s future role in the state and the stalled disarmament process. Franjieh’s inclusion is particularly sensitive, given his longstanding position as a presidential hopeful backed by the group. Analysts in London note that the widening of the financial dragnet to include Oman and Iraq reflects a deliberate effort to disrupt the group’s ability to move money through regional banking channels, with the threat of secondary sanctions hanging over foreign institutions that continue to facilitate transactions. The Treasury’s warning that non-US banks risk losing access to the American financial system underscores the extraterritorial reach of the measures. As the campaign against Hezbollah’s economic lifelines intensifies, the pressure on Lebanon’s political class to choose between accommodation with the group and alignment with international demands is set to sharpen further.