The United States is stepping up efforts to dismantle Hezbollah’s financial networks across Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, pursuing companies, intermediaries and money-transfer channels suspected of helping move Iranian funds to the group, Lebanese and Iraqi sources told Erem News.

The campaign involves new financial measures, tighter enforcement of existing sanctions and efforts to freeze accounts and investigate commercial businesses suspected of serving as financial fronts for Hezbollah, the sources said.

Washington has renewed discussions with Lebanese officials in recent days on how to prevent money from reaching the Iran-backed group, while holding parallel talks with authorities in Baghdad and Damascus to close financial channels that remain active despite U.S. sanctions.

The measures go beyond tighter banking oversight, extending to commercial companies and financial intermediaries. U.S. officials have also raised concerns that humanitarian assistance for displaced Lebanese people could be exploited to move money outside official financial channels, the sources said.

Iraq Receives Expanded U.S. Sanctions Lists

Iraqi authorities have received expanded U.S. lists of individuals and companies suspected of laundering money and providing cash to networks linked to Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to Iraqi sources.

The lists include recently sanctioned individuals and entities as well as others designated previously, against whom restrictions have not been fully enforced. Baghdad has begun circulating the measures among relevant financial and regulatory agencies, the sources said.

Washington is pressing Iraq to scrutinize commercial and financial transfers linked to Lebanon, verify the ultimate beneficiaries of transactions and prevent Iraqi companies from being used as fronts to channel funds to sanctioned entities.

In June, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Iraq’s Al-Shifa Administrative Services and its director, Wael Constantine, as part of a business network overseen by Alaa Hassan Hamiyeh. The department said the network used companies and intermediaries in several countries to generate revenue for Hezbollah.

Iraq’s Finance Ministry issued a circular in July to implement U.S. sanctions targeting individuals and companies linked to the same network, according to a report by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

The latest push follows an early October meeting between U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, during which they discussed efforts to disrupt Iranian financial networks and progress on the issue of armed factions.

U.S. Seeks to Track Hezbollah-Linked Networks in Syria

In Syria, Washington has asked authorities to pursue companies and intermediaries that operated within financial networks linked to Hezbollah under the former Syrian government and determine whether some have continued their activities through newly established commercial fronts, the sources said.

Regulatory bodies have information indicating that some companies have attempted to transfer ownership to individuals who are not on sanctions lists, allowing them to continue commercial operations and financial transfers while avoiding scrutiny, they added.

The investigation is focused on networks that convert commercial and oil revenues into cash or gold, taking advantage of financial ties that developed between Lebanon and Syria over the past several years.

The U.S. Treasury Department has previously identified companies and intermediaries linked to Hamiyeh’s network in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, accusing them of carrying out contracts and operating front companies on Hezbollah’s behalf.

Washington Renews Pressure on Al-Qard Al-Hassan

In Lebanon, U.S. officials have renewed inquiries about the measures taken against Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a financial institution linked to Hezbollah, and are pressing for action beyond banking restrictions, including steps to shut down the institution and dismantle its financial and commercial channels, the sources said.

Washington views the continued operation of cash networks, gold traders and currency-exchange businesses as a loophole that allows Hezbollah to obtain liquidity despite restrictions on the banking sector, they added.

The U.S. Treasury Department has previously sanctioned Jood for Gold Trading, saying the company operates under Al-Qard Al-Hassan’s supervision and is used to convert gold reserves into readily usable funds.

The pressure comes as Lebanon remains on the Financial Action Task Force’s gray list, increasing demands for stronger measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Humanitarian Aid for Displaced Lebanese Under Scrutiny

U.S. officials have also focused on money allocated to displaced Lebanese people, warning that humanitarian needs could be exploited to channel funds outside official financial systems, the sources said.

The concerns follow a Reuters report published on Oct. 7 that Hezbollah had received about $200 million from Iran to assist roughly 50,000 displaced families. The report cited people familiar with the matter. The U.S. State Department, however, questioned whether the money had reached its intended destination.

U.S. Strategy Shifts Toward Cross-Border Money Flows

Younes al-Karim, a researcher specializing in Syrian and regional economic affairs, told Erem News that Washington’s approach marked a shift from targeting established financial institutions to tracking the movement of money across borders.

Iraq is significant as a hub for commercial activity and financial transfers, Syria serves as a transit route with long-standing economic networks, and Lebanon is the final destination for some of the funds, al-Karim said.

He cautioned, however, that sanctions would be effective only if governments could identify the true owners of companies and monitor cash transfers and gold trading, rather than simply circulate lists of sanctioned individuals and entities.

Tighter controls on official financial channels could also push the targeted networks to seek new intermediaries, al-Karim said, making information-sharing among financial and judicial authorities in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq crucial to the outcome of the U.S. campaign.