The U.S. State Department said Thursday that the redesignation of Hezbollah under a U.S. counterterrorism executive order formally recognizes the Lebanese group's role as an Iranian proxy and underscores Washington's view that its military, security and financial operations are closely integrated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force.

The department said the action was intended to make clear that Hezbollah is not operating as an independent Lebanese organization but "for or on behalf of" the IRGC-QF, Iran's main force for conducting operations beyond its borders.

"This redesignation specifies that Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy, not a stand-alone operation as implied by the previous designation," a State Department official said.

The Treasury Department and State Department are redesignating Hezbollah under Executive Order 13224, as amended, specifically for acting for or on behalf of the IRGC-QF.

The State Department said the decision builds on years of U.S. designations documenting what it described as the group's operational, financial and logistical integration with the Qods Force.

According to the department, the latest determination formally recognizes that Hezbollah's military operations, external security activities and major financing networks function as an extension of the IRGC-QF.

"It is not a Lebanese resistance movement," the State Department official said.

The department said Hezbollah has repeatedly sworn loyalty to Iran's Supreme Leader and that the IRGC-QF exerts decisive influence over the group's military and strategic decisions.

The redesignation was presented by the State Department as part of a broader effort to counter Iran's use of Hezbollah and other networks to project influence across the region.

"The United States remains committed to disrupting the networks that enable Iran to use Hezbollah as a tool to undermine Lebanese sovereignty, threaten regional stability, and advance Tehran's terrorist agenda," the official said.

The department's statement also placed Hezbollah's armed role directly against Lebanon's sovereignty and political stability, arguing that the group's relationship with Tehran has repeatedly subordinated Lebanese interests to Iran's regional objectives.

"At Iran's direction, Hezbollah has twice dragged Lebanon into devastating wars," the official said, adding that those conflicts had placed Lebanon's interests behind Tehran's regional agenda and left the Lebanese people to bear the consequences.

The State Department described Hezbollah as a continuing obstacle to Lebanon's recovery.

"Hezbollah remains the obstacle to Lebanon's sovereignty, stability, and economic recovery," the official said.

The department said that disarming and dismantling Hezbollah was essential to Lebanon's future and that Washington was working with partners toward that objective.

"The disarmament and dismantlement of Hezbollah is essential for any credible path forward for Lebanon," the official said.

The State Department's comments came alongside a Treasury action targeting 10 individuals accused of belonging to a network that transfers money between Iran's IRGC-QF and Hezbollah.

The network uses couriers traveling on commercial airline flights between Lebanon, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates and Iran to move hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the U.S. statement. Washington said the network enables Iran to obtain foreign currency illicitly, evade sanctions and fund Hezbollah.

The State Department said the investigation and disruption of the network resulted from close coordination with Turkish partners.

The financial action reflects the department's broader focus on the networks that allow Iran to provide financial support to Hezbollah and other regional actors.

"For decades, the Iranian regime has used Hezbollah to spread terror throughout the Middle East," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement accompanying the Treasury action.

"The United States will not relent in targeting Iran's financial support networks," Bruce said, including those that enable Hezbollah "to threaten peace, undermine the sovereignty of the Lebanese state, and endanger the security of our regional allies."

The department's latest comments therefore frame the Hezbollah redesignation not simply as another sanctions measure, but as a formal U.S. characterization of the group's relationship with Iran.

By explicitly identifying Hezbollah as an Iranian proxy acting on behalf of the IRGC-QF, Washington said it was reinforcing a conclusion it has reached through years of sanctions and investigations: that Hezbollah's military, external security and major financial activities are deeply connected to Iran's Qods Force.