WASHINGTON: The US government on Thursday announced sanctions against several Lebanese officials it said were aligned with Hezbollah and members of the sanctioned Alaa Hassan Hamieh business network for obstructing Lebanon’s peace process and delaying the disarmament of Hezbollah. The US Treasury Department said its Office of Foreign Assets Control was also designating individuals in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Oman who it said were raising funds and operating front companies to generate revenue for Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group.

The US Treasury sanctioned nine Hezbollah-linked individuals in Lebanon, shifting focus from crypto and financial networks to political and security

The US Treasury sanctioned nine Lebanese officials under counterterrorism authority for aiding Hezbollah, freezing US-linked assets and blocking