US sanctions Hamas, Iranian networks, offers $15m to disrupt IRGC’s finances

The United States has sanctioned international networks assisting Hamas to sustain its operations, expand political influence, and undermine peace efforts in the Middle East.

The designations announced on Tuesday target three categories of “enablers,” including organizers of a Hamas-backed flotilla attempting to reach Gaza.

Others are operatives within the Muslim Brotherhood that facilitate terrorist attacks, and coordinators of Samidoun, an organization tied to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The State Department emphasized that Hamas uses the enablers to sustain its position in Gaza, finance its missions, and engage in terrorist violence beyond its borders.

The latest action, the government said, exposes how Hamas exploits certain organizations, institutions, and civil groups to “advance its malign agenda while claiming humanitarian objectives.”

​The U​.S. ​has also sanctioned several Iran​-linked currency exchange houses, ​individuals, companies, ​and 19 vessels that ​enable Iran’s evasion of international sanctions and fund its activities​.

​The measure, part of the Economic Fury campaign​, targets ​”the shadow financial system and illicit shipping operations​” that allow Iran to move billions of dollars annually from oil and petrochemical sales​.

The sanctions ​affect Amin Exchange, a major Iranian currency exchanger that operates through ​”a network of front companies​” in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and China, including Hong Kong​.

​The steps to dismantle ​Iran’s financial channels,​ according to Washington​, will block resources ​directed toward regional ​instability, terrorist organizations,​ and weapons ​development programs.

Meanwhile, the State Department​’s Rewards for Justice​ is offering up to $​15 million for information that can disrupt the financial mechanisms of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its branches.