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Recent Appearances...

Home Front: WoT

Homeland Security Committee says 'national security blunders' of past 4 years have emboldened terrorists

2025-01-23

[FoxNews] The House Homeland Security Committee is highlighting threats posed by homegrown extremists inspired by foreign jihadist networks.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said Wednesday the "national security blunders of the past four years" have "emboldened" foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) and homegrown violent extremism.

The committee on Wednesday morning released an updated version of its Terror Threat Snapshot assessment, highlighting threats posed by homegrown extremists inspired by foreign jihadist networks like ISIS in America and around the world.

Image of the snapshot can be seen at the link.

The updated report comes less than a month after Texas native and U.S. military veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar killed 14 civilians Jan. 1, when he drove a truck through crowds of New Year's revelers on Bourbon Street around 3 a.m. in what federal authorities described as an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack.

"The New Orleans terrorist attack was a stark reminder that the terror threat to America is alive and persistent," Green said. "The House Homeland Security Committee highlighted this fact back in October, and, sadly, Americans have witnessed major escalations in these threats just in the past three months."

The report details more than 50 jihadist cases across 30 states between April 2021 and January 2025, including "dozens of attempts to provide material support to ISIS," "providing material support to Hizballah and al Qaeda," "receiving military-type training from ISIS and Hizballah" and "vehicle ramming attacks."

From the botched Afghanistan withdrawal in August 2021 to the New Orleans attack, the report includes a detailed list of all alarming terrorist-inspired attacks and arrests since former President Biden took office four years ago.

The New Orleans terrorist attack was a stark reminder that the terror threat to America is significant and growing.

Our updated "Terror Threat Snapshot" reflects the ongoing threats that the U.S. faces from individuals radicalized to commit violence against Americans. pic.twitter.com/Fx3DRWanLg
— House Homeland GOP (@HomelandGOP) January 22, 2025

Link

Home Front: Politix

‘Let’s see what happens’: Trump taps ex-State Dept. spokeswoman Ortagus as deputy Mideast envoy

2025-01-04

[IsraelTimes] US President-elect Donald Trump announces his decision to appoint his former State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus as his deputy Mideast envoy.
Attempted carpetbagger for Tennessee's 5th congressional district in the 2022 election
Ortagus will work under Steve Witkoff, who was one of the first appointments Trump made. Both of them are Jewish.

Trump is far from effusive in his Truth Social post announcing the decision.

Ortagus “fought me for three years, but hopefully has learned her lesson,” he says. He doesn’t get into specifics, but Ortagus did back Nikki Haley’s Republican presidential run against Trump in the previous election.

“These things usually don’t work out, but she has strong Republican support, and I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for them. Let’s see what happens.”

“She will hopefully be an asset to Steve, a great leader and talent, as we seek to bring calm and prosperity to a very troubled region. I expect great results, and soon!” he adds.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Col. Richard Kemp: 'Hard to think of more precise, discriminating method of attack'

2024-09-19

[IsraelNationalNews] Colonel Richard Kemp, the former commander of the British military forces in Afghanistan, spoke to Israel National News - Arutz Sheva about the explosion of pagers and communication devices used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Col. Kemp cautioned that the New York Times was premature in its claim that the detonation of the pagers "was a tactical success that had no clear strategic impact."
Who cares that NYT "thinks"?
He stated, "We do not know whether this attack will have strategic impact, perhaps as part of a larger plan that has not yet unfolded. However that might or might not work out, this operation against Hezbollah will have had a major effect in its own right. First, it will have done immense damage to the terrorist organization, taking a large number of its fighters and leaders out in one go. Plus of course, severely undermining their communications capability."

"Second, it will have intimidated Hezbollah, potentially frightening some members into leaving the group or even scare off new recruits from joining. The psychological impact will be enormous, with every Hezbollah terrorist now fearing that almost everything he owns or touches, including cars, guns, laptops, radios, and other electrical items, could potentially be weaponized against them. This is not what Hezbollah terrorists signed up for. Wide-scale and severe maiming and death by remote control is far removed from the supposed glory of battlefield martyrdom they were promised," he added. "Potentially even, this move could contribute to any future Hezbollah decision on whether or not to pull back from immediate conflict with Israel, not least because it is clear the extent that their organization has been comprehensively penetrated by Israeli intelligence."

"Third, it has humiliated Hezbollah, a terrorist organization that struts its power on the world stage, presenting itself as one of the strongest armies in the Middle East. While trying to conceal its communications from Israel, that very activity has been turned against it in spectacular style. The resulting mockery that has already greeted Hizballah in the region will add to the terrorist group’s demoralization.

He noted that, "Beyond Hezbollah, this operation will also spread fear among Israel’s other enemies including Iran and Syria. They will be terrified that Israel’s long arm will also reach into their own intelligence, terrorist and military apparatus."

Col. Kemp praised the use of the pagers as an extraordinarily precise tactic that limits civilian casualties to an unprecedented degree. "It’s hard to think of a more precise and discriminating method of attack than detonating pagers known to be specifically assigned to individual terrorists, using devices that limit the potential for collateral damage. I doubt any widespread military attack in history in civilian areas has ever been so precisely targeted."

"The targets of the attack were terrorist fighters who are involved, directly or indirectly, in active combat operations against Israel including rocket and drone attacks every day for almost a year. Under international law that makes them legitimate and lawful targets for attack as Israel seeks to defend its citizens from violent aggression," he said.

When asked what Israel could or should do to take advantage of the damage this incident has caused Hezbollah, Col. Kemp responded, "This may be part of a wider military plan and only the Israeli government is in a position to judge what follow-up action now needs to take place. Clearly, Hezbollah is now at an unexpected low point and its weakness is ripe for exploitation."

A second incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when multiple explosions were reported in the Dahieh area of Beirut, Lebanon, killing at least five people and injuring approximately 500.

Wednesday's incident appears to involve other kinds of communication devices such as walkie-talkies and radios and not just pagers as the original incident on Tuesday had.
UAV controllers are communication devices.

[X]

Israel will be mapping out injuries, hospital admissions, social media posts, electronic communications, news footage, and medical records, linking them all to people who had these pagers today. Forget the injuries and deaths; Israel just created a massive and growing trove of…
— Ben B@dejo (@BenTelAviv) September 17, 2024

…. growing trove of information about both known and previously unknown Hezbollah militants, as well as their supporters, partners, friends, family members, colleagues, workplaces, vehicles, and homes.

They just created an incredibly dense and *up-to-date* social graph of an entire terrorist network, across Lebanon as well as neighboring countries. It is incredible what they just did.

(Imagine being in a dark room with a massive Christmas tree in it. The tree has thousands of electric lights strewn all over it, but they’re unlit because the wall plug is not plugged into the wall socket.)

(Now, plug it in.)

Link

Home Front: WoT

Accused Hezbollah financier expected to plead guilty in US sanctions evasion case

2024-09-06

[IsraelTimes] Prosecutors say Mohammad Bazzi sold real estate in Michigan, then transferred funds abroad; ask judge for hearing this month to facilitate change of plea

A dual Lebanese-Belgian citizen accused by the United States of financing Lebanese terror group Hezbollah is expected to plead guilty in a criminal case charging him with sanctions evasion and money-laundering conspiracies.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said in a court filing on Thursday that lawyers for Mohammad Bazzi told them he wishes to change his plea. Bazzi, 60, pleaded not guilty
"Wudn't me."
last year to three felony counts, including attempting to transact with a sanctioned terrorist organization.

Bazzi’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US Treasury Department placed Bazzi on its sanctions list in 2018 over his alleged ties to Hezbollah, which Washington considers a terrorist organization.

Prosecutors said Bazzi covertly sold real estate he owned in Michigan and transferred the funds abroad, in violation of those sanctions.

Bazzi was extradited to the US in April 2023 from Romania, where he had been arrested two months prior.

Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi has funneled millions of dollars to the terrorist organization Hizballah.

Prosecutors and Bazzi’s lawyers jointly asked US District Judge Dora Irizarry to schedule a hearing later this month for Bazzi to change his plea. Guess he's been watching Hunter.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Lebanese officials now confirm that US envoy and NSC official Amos Hochstein passed information on Israeli strikes

2024-07-30

[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

https://t.co/D2qsYld1WV

This is very serious. Israeli reports say Lebanese officials now confirm that US envoy and NSC official Amos Hochstein passed information of Israeli strikes in advance of those strikes to Lebanon (which mean Hizballah). https://t.co/UhCH54kD6o
— David Wurmser (@Wurmserscribit) July 28, 2024

Link

Iraq

US Treasury sanctions Iraqi airline, militia leaders for assisting IRGC; Fly Baghdad rejects accusation

2024-01-23

[Rudaw] The United States Department of Treasury on Monday announced its sanctioning of Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad and several members of Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah

...spelt in some sources Kataeb Hezbollah...

for providing assistance to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said that it has designated Fly Baghdad and its CEO Basheer Abdulkadhim Alwan al-Shabbani, "for providing assistance" to the IRGC’s Quds Force and its proxy groups in Iraq, Syria, and Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
According to the US Treasury, Fly Baghdad "has supported the operations of the IRGC-QF [Quds Force] and its proxies by delivering materials and personnel throughout the region."

"Fly Baghdad flights have delivered shipments of weapons to Damascus International Airport in Syria for transfer to members of the IRGC-QF and Iran-aligned militia groups on the ground in Syria, including the Syrian Arab Elite Republican Guard, Lebanese Hizballah, KH [Kataib Hezbollah], and the KH-affiliated Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Brigade," read the statement.

The US Department of Treasury added that Fly Baghdad was also involved in transferring hundreds of Iraqi fighters, including fighters of the Iran-backed militia group Asaib Ahl al-Haq, in support of the Iranian proxies’ attacks on Israel, in October.

Along with Fly Baghdad, the OFAC also designated three leaders and supporters of the Iran-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah, "as well as a business that moves and launders" for the group.

The statement named Hossein Moanes al-Ibudi, a senior member of the Kataib Hezbollah and a member of the Iraqi parliament, Riyad Ali Hussein al-Azzawi, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) specialist and an engineer for the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and Awqad Muhsin Faraj al-Hamidawi, who directs Kataib Hezbollah’s "businesses and aspects of the financial portfolio," as part of the list of individuals sanctioned by the US "for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support" of the group.

A travel company, al-Massal, was also sanctioned on the grounds that it was used by Kataib Hezbollah to generate revenue and launder money.

"Al-Massal is being designated ... for being owned, controlled, or directed by Awqad al-Hamidawi," according to the statement.

"Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
and its proxies have sought to abuse regional economies and use seemingly legitimate businesses as cover for funding and facilitating their attacks," said US Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson, adding that the US will "continue to disrupt Iran’s illicit activities aimed at undermining the stability of the region."

As a result of this move, all assets and property belonging to the specified legal persons, "that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons," are blocked and must be disclosed to the Treasury’s OFAC. Furthermore, any organizations that are owned, whether directly or indirectly, individually or collectively, by 50 percent or more by one or more individuals subject to asset blocking are also subject to the same restrictions.

Two Fly Baghdad-owned, Iraqi-registered aircraft were identified as "blocked property in which Fly Baghdad has an interest."

The US treasury designated the IRGC’s Quds Force as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT)" in 2007, and the US Department of State designated Kataib Hezbollah as an STDG and a "foreign terrorist organization (FTO)" in 2009.

The sanctions come at a time when US interests across Iraq and Syria are the target of dronezaps from IRGC-backed militia groups. On Monday, the Islamic Resistance® in Iraq, an Iran-backed group, announced targeting Ain al-Asad military base in Iraq’s western Anbar province with drones.

According to the Pentagon, US bases forces have been attacked approximately 140 times in Iraq and Syria since mid-October.

The US has carried out retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq, drawing the ire of the Iraqi government, and amplifying cries of ending the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) mission in Iraq.

In November, the US Treasury Department sanctioned six individuals affiliated with Kataib Hezbollah, and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, another Iran-backed group, as well as its leader Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji.

Washington accused both militias of receiving support from Iran’s IRGC and involvement in dozens of attacks on American interests in Iraq and Syria since Israel’s war with Paleostinian Hamas
Hamas

...the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
in the Gaza Strip.

Fly Baghdad Cancels Flights After U.S. Sanctions; Denies Accusations

“Nuh uh. Wudn’t us,” the big guy said emphatically.

[Shafaq News] Hours after the United States imposed sanctions on Iraqi airline "Fly Baghdad," the company was compelled to cancel several flights from Baghdad International Airport. Videos on social media showed stranded passengers at the airport after Fly Baghdad's flight cancellations.

The U.S. Treasury accused Fly Baghdad of transporting weapons to Syria and supporting organizations banned by the U.S. government.

In response, the company, along with its management and owner, expressed surprise at the decision, asserting that it lacked any substantial or moral evidence.
"Moral Evidence"?
Fly Baghdad denounced the decision, emphasizing its years of operation under the direct supervision of the Iraqi government, including the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Transport.

The company called on the U.S. Treasury Department to "present evidence supporting the accusations," it intends to pursue legal action to demand compensation for what it considers a decision based on misleading and unreal information that does not withstand legal scrutiny.

Link

Terror Networks

US sanctions Iraqi militia over rocket, drone attacks

2023-11-28

17-11-2023
[Rudaw] The United States on Friday announced new sanctions on Iraqi militia group Kataib Hezbollah in connection with recent drone and rocket attacks on bases housing US troops in Iraq and Syria.

Six individuals affiliated with Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah were sanctioned by the Treasury Department. The US Department of State also designated Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada and its leader Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji. Washington accused both militias of receiving support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and involvement in dozens of attacks on American interests in Iraq and Syria since Israel’s war with Paleostinian Hamas
Hamas

...the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
Strip.

"Today’s action sends a message to Kata’ib Hizballah and all other Iran-backed groups that the United States will use all available measures to hold to account any opportunistic actors who seek to exploit the situation in Gaza for their own ends," said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.

Kataib Hezbollah was first designated a terror organization in 2009, accused of attacks on American targets in Iraq.

According to the Pentagon, US forces in Iraq and Syria have come under attack at least 58 times since Hamas’ surprise October 7 assault on Israel that killed 1,200 people and Israel’s retaliatory ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s that have killed more than 11,000, including many children. Most recently, suicide drones targeted Harir airbase in Erbil on Friday morning.

The Islamic Resistance® in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups affiliated with the IRGC, have grabbed credit for the majority of the attacks, saying they are in response to Washington’s support for Israel.

The US has carried out three retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed militia targets in Syria.

The six Kataib Hezbollah-affiliated individuals sanctioned are Imad Naji al-Bahadli, a member of the group’s governing council accused of receiving training with Lebanese Hezbollah,

...even though the two groups are completely unconnected, as they endlessly pronounce...

Habib Hasan Mughamis Darraji, Kataib Hezbollah’s foreign affairs chief accused of coordinating training and smuggling, the group’s main spokesperson Ja’afar al-Husayni, senior military commander Khalid Kadhim Jasim al-Skeni, Basim Mohammad Hasab al-Majidi, executive director of affiliated TV station al-Ittijah, and Mojtaba Jahandust, an official with the IRGC’s Quds Forces who facilitates training of Kataib Hezbollah members in Iran.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

US sanctions Syrian and Hezbollah suspects over Captagon trade

2023-03-29

[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

US sanctions Syrian and Hezbollah suspects over Captagon trade #Lebanon https://t.co/BoeVdbDjY2
— Naharnet (@Naharnet) March 28, 2023

The U.S. Treasury in coordination with the UK on Tuesday slapped Captagon-related sanctions on Syrian and Lebanese nationals suspected of ties to Damascus and Hezbollah.

In a statement, the Treasury said it designated "key individuals supporting the regime of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
and the production or export of Captagon, a dangerous amphetamine."

"The trade in Captagon is estimated to have become a billion-dollar illicit enterprise. These designations, some of which are being implemented pursuant to the Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act of 2019 ("Caesar Act"), also highlight the important role of Lebanese narcos -- some of whom maintain ties to Hezbollah -- in facilitating the export of Captagon. This action also underscores the al-Assad family dominance of illicit Captagon trafficking and its funding for the oppressive Syrian regime," the statement added.

"Syria has become a global leader in the production of highly addictive Captagon, much of which is trafficked through Leb
Leb

...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
," said Andrea M. Gacki, the director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

"With our allies, we will hold accountable those who support Bashir al-Assad’s regime with illicit drug revenue and other financial means that enable the regime’s continued repression of the Syrian people," Gacki added.

The Treasury identified those sanctioned as the Syrian nationals Khalid Qaddour, Samer Kamal al-Assad, Wassim Badi al-Assad and Imad Abu Zureik, and Lebanese citizens Hassan Muhammad Daqqou and Noah Zaiter.

Below is information about each of the six individuals as published by the Treasury:

"Khalid Qaddour (Qaddour) is a Syrian businessman and close associate of Maher al-Assad, who was designated under E.O. 13572 in 2011 in connection with his role in the Government of Syria’s (GoS) ongoing human rights
...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you...
abuses against the Syrian people. Maher al-Assad is the head of the notorious U.S.-designated Fourth Division of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). He is also the brother of Syrian President al-Assad, who was designated in 2011 pursuant to E.O. 13573 for his leading role in the escalation of violence by the GoS against its population. Maher al-Assad and the Fourth Division are known to run many illicit revenue-generation schemes, which range from smuggling cigarettes and mobile phones to facilitating the production and trafficking of Captagon. It is reportedly Qaddour who is responsible for managing revenues generated by these activities. The Syrian regime and its allies have increasingly embraced the production and trafficking of Captagon to generate hard currency, estimated by some to be in the billions of dollars.

Qaddour is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13572 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Maher al-Assad. Qaddour is also being designated pursuant the Caesar Act for being a foreign person that knowingly provides significant financial, material, or technological support to, or knowingly engages in a significant transaction with, Maher al-Assad.

Samer Kamal al-Assad (Samer) is a cousin of President al-Assad and oversees key Captagon production facilities in regime-controlled Latakia, Syria, in coordination with the Fourth Division and certain associates of Hizballah. In 2020, 84 million Captagon pills produced at a factory owned by Samer in Lattakia, Syria, worth an estimated $1.2 billion were seized at the Italian port of Salerno. Samer reportedly also owns a factory producing Captagon in the Qalamoun region near the Syria-Lebanon border.

Samer is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13582 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the GoS. Samer is also being designated pursuant the Caesar Act for being a foreign person that knowingly provides significant financial, material, or technological support to, or knowingly engages in a significant transaction with, the GoS.

Wassim Badi al-Assad (Wassim), another cousin of President al-Assad, has supported the SAA in various roles, to include leading the Ba’ath Brigades militia, a paramilitary unit under the Syrian Arab Army’s command. He has publicly called for the formation of sectarian militias to support the regime. Wassim has been a key figure in the regional drug trafficking network, partnering with high-level suppliers to smuggle contraband, Captagon, and other drugs throughout the region, with tacit support of the Syrian regime.

Wassim is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13582 for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Syrian Arab Army.

Imad Abu Zureik (Zureik), a former Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
commander who now leads a Syrian Military Intelligence (SMI)-affiliated militia, has played an important role enabling drug production and smuggling in southern Syria. With the approval of the U.S.-designated SMI, Zureik leads a militia group controlling the crucial Nassib border crossing between Syria and Jordan. Zureik uses his power over the area to sell contraband, operate protection rackets, and smuggle drugs in Jordan, while also recruiting directly for the SMI.

Zureik is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13572 for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the SMI.

Hassan Muhammad Daqqou (Daqqou) is a Lebanese-Syrian dual national dubbed by media as "The King of Captagon." Daqqou has been linked to drug trafficking operations carried out by the SAA’s Fourth Division, directed by Maher al-Assad, and with cover reportedly provided by Hizballah. He was arrested in Lebanon in 2021 on drug trafficking charges associated with a massive shipment of Captagon interdicted in Malaysia on its way to Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
, though Hizballah affiliates have reportedly facilitated Daqqou’s ability to continue to run his businesses while he was in prison. Daqqou developed a reputation as a source for Captagon and controller of smuggling across the Syria-Lebanon border under the protection of Hizballah associates.

Daqqou is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Hizballah.

Hassan Daqqou Trading and al-Israa Establishment for Import and Export are two companies specializing in general trade and import-export operations that are registered under Daqqou’s name in the Beka’a Valley region of Lebanon. Hassan Daqqou Trading and al-Israa Establishment for Import and Export are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for being owned, controlled, or directed by, directly or indirectly, Daqqou.

Noah Zaitar (Zaitar) is a Lebanese national with close ties to both the SAA’s Fourth Division and certain members of Hizballah. Zaitar is a known arms dealer and drug smuggler and is currently wanted by the Lebanese authorities for drug trafficking. Zaitar reportedly conducts his illicit activities under the protection of the Fourth Division.

Zaitar is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Hizballah."

Link

International-UN-NGOs

Gulf task force sanctions IRGC-linked individuals for financing terrorism, money laundering

2022-06-09

[Rudaw] A regional task force on combatting the financing of terrorism and money laundering placed three individuals on a sanctions list for providing financial support to the Quds Force, the external arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and to Lebanese

Hezbollah.

The three individuals identified as Ali Qasir, Meghdad Amini, and Morteza Hashemi are already on the US Treasury Department list and were named by the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), which consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
, Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century...
, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The center was created in order to enhance multilateral efforts between the US and Gulf countries to counter money laundering and terrorism financing networks in the region.

"These complex networks of intermediaries allow the IRGC-QF to obfuscate its involvement in selling Iranian oil. The IRGC-QF also relies on these individuals to launder money for Hizballah [Hezbollah] officials and front companies and to broker associated contracts," the Treasury Department said in a statement.

The Treasury Department said that Amini and Qasir directed a network of 20 individuals and front companies in multiple jurisdictions to facilitate the movement and sale of tens of millions of dollars’ worth of gold, electronics, and foreign currency to help the Quds Force and Hezbollah, both designated as foreign terrorist organization by Washington.

Hashemi on the other hand operated mostly in Hong Kong and China, and according to the Treasury Department, he used "his access to the international financial system to launder vast sums of money for the IRGC-QF and Hizballah [Hezbollah]." Hashemi also used Chinese nationals to open bank accounts and used these individuals to purchase "U.S.-origin, dual-use products for onward shipment to Iran."

All three individuals were sanctioned by the US in the past years for their roles in helping the IRGC-QF which was sanctioned by the US in 2007. The three individuals were amongst 16 individuals, entities and groups that were sanctioned including two groups operating out of Bahrain and reportedly directed by IRGC.

Oman, a member of the TFTC task force, has played a critical role in acting as an intermediary between Tehran and the world powers to revive the 2015 Iran
Iran

...The nation is noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence...
nuclear deal. It is not clear if Monday’s action in sanctioning the IRGC-linked individuals and groups will impact the way in which Iran perceives Oman.

An Iranian official from the oil ministry, who did not want to be named, told state-run agency IRNA that in the first two months of this Iranian year of 1401, which started on 21st of March, Tehran has managed to increase its oil revenue by 60 percent. In the first two months of last Iranian years, the revenue stood at 4.5 billion dollars but this year it jumped to 7.5 billion dollars.

Iran is currently at loggerheads with the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over traces of uranium found in at least two undeclared sites, with the agency pushing Iran to provide an explanation.

Link

Home Front: WoT

New Jersey software developer, 45, was sleeper Hezbollah agent who planned to carry out terror attacks on famous US landmarks if Iran was bombed, court hears

2022-04-26

[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Gee, he doesn't look like a spy.

Alexei Saab

... age 45, he was also known as Ali Hassan Saab, Alex Saab, and Rachid. Until his 2019 arrest he worked as director of information technology for a Morristown, New Jersey energy company, supplementing his income as an adjunct lecturer at Baruch College. He joined Hezbollah in 1996, soaked up all sorts of advanced spy & sabotage training, and by 2003 was collecting information about potential targets in the US, which proved no barrier to his naturalization in the fateful year of 2008. There is also the small matter of marriage fraud...

allegedly worked for Hezbollah's Islamic Jihad Organization

...not the same as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which operates in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, financed by Iranian money...

as a spy

Investigators allege he planned to carry out attacks on famous U.S. landmarks if Iran were to be bombed and would photograph his potential targets

The naturalized US citizen worked as a software engineer in New Jersey by day and as a terrorist operative by night, officials allege

He faces numerous charges including conspiracy, supporting a foreign terrorist organization, citizenship application fraud and more

Saab has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is currently on trial in NYC

He is also facing a marriage fraud charge for allegedly marrying a co-conspirator in 2012 under false pretenses. Saab's lawyer did not contest that charge.

The most serious charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 25 years in prison, though the charges collectively carry potential penalties of over 100 years in prison.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

IDF exposes alleged Hezbollah drug-running, smuggling operations along northern border

2022-04-26

[IsraelTimes] The IDF’s Arabic-language front man Avichay Adraee says the military has exposed

Hezbollah’s methods of drug-running operations on the northern border.

In a series of tweets, Adraee says that Hatem Sheet, a resident of Kfarkela in southern ~~Lebanon~~ Hezbollahstan
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years. It produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. That's three statements. Only the first is subjective....
, has used his home near the border to throw drugs from his balcony over the fence to be picked up on the other Israeli side.

He says Sheet has also been conducting reconnaissance work for the Lebanese terror group on the military’s activities along the northern border.

Adraee separately names a Hezbollah man he says is responsible for coordinating the smugglings on the border with Sheet — Hasan Sara’eni.

He says Sara’eni is an assistant to senior Hezbollah commander Khalil Harb, long accused by the Israel Defense Forces of managing the terror groups drug smugglings operations.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

US announces new sanctions targeting Iran’s drone program

2021-10-30

[Rudaw] The United States on Friday announced sanctions targeting Iran’s drone program, which it said has been used to attack American forces and partners in the Middle East, including Iraq. The move comes days after Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
indicated it is ready to resume nuclear talks in Vienna.

"Iran’s proliferation of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] across the region threatens international peace and stability. Iran and its proxy ~~bandidos~~ Lions of Islam have used UAVs to attack U.S. forces, our partners, and international shipping," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo.

The Treasury sanctioned companies and individuals it said supported the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) drone programs and designated Saeed Aghajani who commands the IRGC’s drone force.

The IRGC’s elite Quds Forces "has used and proliferated lethal UAVs for use by Iran-supported groups, including Hizballah, HAMAS, Kata’ib Hizballah, and the Iran's Houthi sock puppets

...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s," stated the Treasury. "Lethal UAVs have been used in attacks on international shipping and on U.S. forces."

US interests in Iraq and Syria have come under attack or threat of attack by drones at least 12 times in 2021, most recently at al-Tanf base in southern Syria, according to data compiled by Rudaw English. Iraqi militias with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) backed by Iran are widely blamed. In June, drones were front and centre at a PMF military parade.

The militias demand the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq and stepped up their attacks after the US assassinated Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and PMF commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad in January 2020. The US has agreed to pull out its combat troops by the end of the year as it focuses on training and advising Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group (ISIS).

The new sanctions come as Iran is under pressure to return to delayed nuclear talks. Tehran’s top nuclear negotiator this week said Iran would resume talks with six world powers by the end of November. Negotiations were suspended in June to allow for a transition of power after elections in Iran.

Reporting on the announcement of the sanctions, IRGC-linked Tasnim news said the White House was expected to refrain from introducing new measures as a sign of goodwill.

Link

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