In new sanctions announced Monday, Treasury said Fly Baghdad and its chief executive Basheer Abdulkadhim Alwan al-Shabbani have provided assistance to Iran's military wing and its proxy groups in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. A representative for the firm was not immediately available.
"Iran and its proxies have sought to abuse regional economies and use seemingly legitimate businesses as cover to finance and facilitate their attacks," Treasury Undersecretary Brian E. Nelson said in a statement. "The United States will continue to disrupt Iran's illicit activities aimed at undermining stability in the region."
The sanctions block access to American property and bank accounts and prevent targeted individuals and companies from doing business with Americans.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control also named three leaders and supporters of an Iran-aligned militia in Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah, as well as a company it says moves and launders funds for the organization.
Since the outbreak of the War between Israel and Hamas, an Iranian-backed militia group in Iraq calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, has launched attacks on bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. The group has said the attacks are retaliation for Washington's backing of Israel in the war in Gaza and that its goal is to expel US troops from Iraq.
Most of the attacks failed or were shot down and caused no casualties, but on Saturday a barrage of missiles launched at Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq wounded several US personnel and a stationed Iraqi military service member. over there.
Some of the Iranian-backed Iraqi militias, including Kataib Hezbollah, officially operate under the control of the Iraqi army as part of a coalition known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, which was a key player in the fight against the Islamic State extremist group as it swept through Iraq. and Syria, seizing wide swaths of territory. In practice, however, the groups largely operate outside of state control.
Additionally, on Monday, the United States sanctioned a network of Hamas-affiliated financial exchanges in Gaza, including financial facilitators who transferred funds via cryptocurrency from Iran to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza.
The United Kingdom and Australia coordinated these sanctions with the United States.
"Hamas has sought to leverage a variety of financial transfer mechanisms, including the exploitation of cryptocurrency, to channel funds to support the group's terrorist activities," Nelson said. "Treasury, in close coordination with our allies and partners, will continue to leverage our authorities to target Hamas, its financiers, and its international financial infrastructure."
Associated Press reporter Abby Sewell reported from Beirut, Lebanon.
