U.S. blacklists Lebanon-based companies and individual it says linked to Hezbollah

Shafaq news/ The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on a Hezbollah official and two Lebanon-based companies it accused of being linked to the Iran-backed Shi’ite group, the U.S. Treasury Department said.

The US Treasury Department website explained in an updated list of names that "45 persons of Iranian nationality were placed on the list of sanctions related to combating terrorism, along with two Iranian companies" linked to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and National Security.

The Treasury in a statement said it blacklisted Arch Consulting and Meamar Construction, two Lebanon-based companies it said were leveraged by Hezbollah to conceal money transfers to the group’s own accounts, helping to enrich Hezbollah leadership.

Also hit with sanctions was Sultan Khalifah As’ad, who the Treasury said is a senior Hezbollah Executive Council official.