WASHINGTON: The United States and Saudi Arabia on Thursday imposed sanctions on alleged Hezbollah members and financial backers, accusing them of funnelling money to the Lebanese militant group or engaging in terrorism.

The US Treasury Department said it targeted four individuals and one company, effectively freezing their US assets and blocking any transactions with them, while also announcing related action by Saudi Arabia.

In a related action, the US State Department also blacklisted alleged Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai, alias Abu Ali al-Tabatabai, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

“Hezbollah continues to plan, coordinate and execute terrorist attacks around the world, and the Treasury will continue to aggressively target Hezbollah and those supporting its terrorist activities,” Adam Szubin, acting Treasury under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.

The men blacklisted by the Treasury included Muhammad al-Mukhtar Kallas and Hasan Jamal-al-Din, purported accountants for Hezbollah financier Adham Husayn Tabaja, as well as Yosef Ayad and Muhammad Ghaleb Hamdar, described as members of Hezbollah’s External Security Organisation who were accused of plotting attacks in Thailand and Peru.

Saudi Arabia designated Kallas, al-Din and Global Cleaners under a local counterterrorism law, freezing their assets and prohibiting any commercial licenses for the men in the kingdom.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2016