Hezbollah responded to the statements of the US Treasury and State Departments regarding reaffirming its classification within the US sanctions system and linking its activities directly to the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, rejecting the US accusations and considering that the step falls within an ongoing pressure policy targeting the party, its environment and its supporters in Lebanon.
The party said, in a statement, that the US administration had resubmitted what it described as the claim that Hezbollah was under the control of the Quds Force, with the aim of justifying its re-inclusion within the sanctions, considering that the decision constitutes an extension of ongoing US policies aimed, according to its position, at exerting political, financial and security pressure on it and on its environment.
The party’s response came after the US Treasury Department announced, on August 20, 2026, the reclassification of Hezbollah under amended Executive Order 13224, on the basis of what it said was its subjection to the control or direction of the Quds Force or its work on its behalf. The Treasury explained that the move does not create a new American classification for the party, but rather updates the basis on which Washington relies in linking it to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Quds Force.
On the other hand, Hezbollah considered that Washington, instead of exerting pressure on Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory and stop its military operations, blow up homes, and bulldoze lands, was moving to increase pressure on Lebanon, accusing the American administration of seeking to strip the country of its elements of power, causing internal unrest, and shifting the direction of the current confrontation with Israel.
The party stressed that it does not expect from Washington or any other party what it described as “a testament to its Lebaneseness and patriotism,” considering that its march and the sacrifices of its members in confronting Israel constitute, from its point of view, evidence of its connection to Lebanon and the defense of its land and sovereignty.
Regarding its relationship with Iran, the party did not deny this relationship, but rather confirmed that it was “close and fraternal,” and said that it was proud of it, pointing to the support that Tehran provided to it and Lebanon during the stages of the confrontation with Israel, in addition to its contribution to the reconstruction operations after the July 2006 war.
The party attacked American policy in the region, reviewing the record of American interventions and wars from Vietnam to Afghanistan and Iraq, and accusing Washington of providing cover for Israel in the Gaza war and its military operations in Lebanon, as well as its policies towards Yemen, Syria and Iran.
He considered that these policies, from his point of view, deprive the United States of the right to issue classifications or evaluate the patriotism of other powers and countries, accusing Washington of violating international laws and conventions and using its political and financial power to impose its will on different countries and peoples.
Hezbollah concluded by stressing that the American sanctions and classifications will not push it to abandon the option of resistance, and said that it will continue to adhere to what it considers the right of Lebanon and the Lebanese to defend land, sovereignty, and wealth, stressing that the resistance will remain, according to its position, a part of Lebanese political and national life.
In conjunction with the reaffirmation of the party’s classification, the US Treasury Department announced the imposition of sanctions on 10 people that it said formed part of a network to transfer funds in cash to Hezbollah. According to the American account, the network used passengers on commercial flights between Lebanon, Turkey, the Emirates, and Iran to transfer sums that Washington said amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars, away from the official financial system.
The Treasury identified Turkish businessman Yunus Alper Yilmaz as, according to its accusations, the person responsible for managing the money transfer network, and said that he used exchange companies in Turkey, front companies, and bank accounts in operations linked to the Quds Force. The sanctions also included Halil Ibrahim Kaczmaz, Onder Dede, Wasefi Akyuz, Mehmet Akyuz, Mehmet Agur, Fayyaz Karasaleh, Mesut Musafer, Gülay Kaya Savcı and Emrah Ayaz.
Washington said that some members of the network were collecting money from exchange companies, before transporting it directly on commercial flights to Lebanon, while the US State Department indicated that the network’s exposure was the result of cooperation and coordination with the Turkish authorities. The State Department confirmed that the United States will continue to pursue what it describes as Iranian financial support networks for the party.
The new US sanctions result in a freeze on any property or financial interests of the persons covered by them that are located within the United States or under the control of American persons, in addition to prohibiting the majority of financial transactions with them. The Treasury also warned of the possibility of foreign financial institutions being exposed to US measures if they carry out large transactions for the benefit of entities subject to these sanctions.
The August 20 decision does not represent the beginning of the US designation of Hezbollah. The United States had included the party on the list of “designated foreign organizations” on October 8, 1997, and then designated it on October 31, 2001, pursuant to Executive Order 13224, while the Quds Force, in turn, was included among the American sanctions on October 25, 2007. The final step focuses more on confirming the American narrative that the relationship between the party and the Quds Force is not limited to financial and military support, but rather includes, according to the Treasury, influence. In the political and operational decisions of the party.
The latest measures come as part of an escalating US policy of pursuing financial networks linked to the party. In November 2025, the Treasury announced sanctions on individuals it accused of exploiting the monetary economy in Lebanon. It said that day that since the beginning of 2025, the Quds Force had transferred more than a billion dollars to the party, most of it through money transfer and exchange companies. These are accusations whose political content the party had previously rejected and accused Washington of using sanctions as a tool to pressure Lebanon.
Thus, the latest response opens a new round of political and financial confrontation between Hezbollah and Washington, at a time when the American administration is increasingly linking the party’s file to the issue of Iranian influence and financing of the Quds Force, while the party insists on presenting its relationship with Tehran as a relationship of support and alliance, and refuses to consider it a basis for questioning its Lebanese position or its political and military options.
