Bessent urges Lebanon to hit Iranian and Hezbollah financial networks: ‘decisive’ action against funding

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has urged the Lebanese government to take “decisive” action to dismantle Iranian and Hezbollah financial networks, as Al Jazeera reports.

According to Al Jazeera, Bessent met with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, stressing the importance of advancing key financial-sector reforms to restore confidence in Lebanon’s banking system.

In a post on X after the meeting, the U.S. Treasury secretary underlined that hitting the financing of Iran-linked networks is part of the economic pressure Washington is exerting on Tehran as part of the war that began in late February.

The call comes as the United States maintains its naval blockade of Iranian ports and seeks to tighten financial sanctions, aiming to cut off revenue streams that, according to Washington, sustain Iran’s war machine and its regional allies.