The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on four people it says are transferring money from Iran's Revolutionary Guards to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) through Lebanese Hezbollah.
It also imposed sanctions on Jamal Trust Bank and its affiliates in Lebanon for allegedly facilitating Hezbollah's financial activities and transferring funds to families of what it called "suicide bombers."
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the United States was determined to cut off support for Hezbollah, adding that "the misbehavior of Jamal Trust undermines the integrity of the Lebanese financial system."
For its part, the Association of Banks in Lebanon said that this step will not affect the Lebanese banking sector and assured depositors that their money in the bank will be safe.
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the US administration for the imposition of sanctions imposed on the bank, and said that the step is important and the goal is to pressure Iran and its followers who are working against Israel.
Sanctions and warning
"Corrupt financial institutions like Jamal Trust pose a direct threat to the integrity of the Lebanese financial system," said Treasury Undersecretary in charge of counterterrorism financing Segal Mandelker.
The sanctions would freeze the bank's assets in the United States and ban transactions through the US financial system.
The Treasury Department urges the Lebanese government to mitigate the impact of these sanctions on "innocent bank account holders who do not know that Hezbollah is putting their savings at risk."
This pressure on Jamal Trust, a modest but favored institution of Hezbollah, should be seen as a warning, a US official said.
The United States has placed Hezbollah on the list of terrorist organizations since 1997 and says it threatens peace and stability in the Middle East, while Jamal Trust is a 50-year-old commercial bank with branches across Lebanon, according to its website.