Sanctions: The Dual-Use Policy of Financial Warfare
THE ACTORS: Who is involved in this story? The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is the primary actor, designating individuals and entities identified as facilitating financial operations for Hezbollah. Specifically, the action targeted individuals like Amer Chmaytli and associates, accused of operating a money exchange and gold dealership in Lebanon that
allegedly laundered funds for Hezbollah. On the other side is Hezbollah, an influential Lebanese political party and militant group, designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the US since 1997 (State Department, 1997). THE FUNDING: Where does their money come from? The US government, via OFAC, wields immense financial power, able to freeze assets within its jurisdiction and
effectively sever sanctioned entities from the global dollar-denominated financial system. These specific sanctions, and the broader US sanctions apparatus against Hezbollah, are part of an ongoing effort to curtail the group's alleged funding streams, which the US claims originate from sources including Iran (Reuters, 2018), illicit trade, and various financial networks. The stated goal is to
degrade Hezbollah's operational capabilities by disrupting its access to capital. However, the economic impact often extends to the broader Lebanese population, already struggling with a severe financial crisis that began in 2019, where the national currency has lost over 90% of its value (World Bank, 2021). THE INCENTIVES: What do they gain from this narrative? For the US, the incentive is