Preparation to break the back of Hamas, America hits financial networks hard

The United States imposed sanctions on financial exchanges linked to Hamas in Gaza, an Iraqi airline and supporters of Iran-linked militias in Iraq, accusing them all of working with Iran’s elite military and intelligence unit. The US Treasury said it has imposed sanctions on financial networks linked to Hamas in Gaza, specifically on financial facilitators facilitating the transfer of funds, including cryptocurrencies, to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF), which on October 7 Was attacked.

The Treasury said the sanctions were coordinated with Australia and Britain. Both Britain and Washington targeted Gaza-based money changer Zuhir Shamlakh, whom they accused of facilitating the transfer of millions of dollars from Iran to Hamas. By approving these and other targets, the US government is trying to crack down on the many Iranian-backed proxies that have used Gaza, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen to carry out attacks on Israel, US and other interests.

“Sanctions are just one of many levers we have when it comes to holding Iran and some of its proxies accountable,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedanta Patel said at a news briefing. Patel said these steps would have a concrete impact on groups that Washington accuses of destabilizing the Middle East. For example, he said, the US hopes that blacklisting Iraq’s Fly Baghdad airline and its chief executive will disrupt the airline’s alleged role in ferrying supplies and personnel to Syria for the Quds Force.