US Imposes New Sanctions on Gold Exchange Firm Linked to Hezbollah

US Imposes Sanctions on Lebanese Gold Firm Amid Tensions with Israel

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions against Jood SARL, a gold firm in Lebanon, on Tuesday. The company was blacklisted due to alleged ties to Hezbollah, according to the US government. The sanctions aim to cut off the group’s revenue streams.

US President Donald Trump’s administration stated that Jood SARL is involved in converting Hezbollah’s gold reserves into usable funds. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “Hezbollah is a threat to peace and stability in the Middle East.” The US will work to isolate these terrorists from the global financial system, according to Bessent.

The sanctions come as gold prices have reached record highs, surpassing $5,000 per ounce. Jood SARL works under al-Qard al-Hassan (AQAH), an already sanctioned Hezbollah-linked entity that provides financial services in Lebanon. Senior officials of AQAH established a chain of companies to trade gold in Lebanon and potentially overseas.

The US Treasury also imposed sanctions on several individuals and shipping companies, which it says help generate revenue for Hezbollah. These sanctions block the firms’ assets in the US and make it illegal for US citizens and companies to engage in financial transactions with them.

Israel has been involved in daily attacks across Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement reached after November 2024. The Lebanese government has documented 2,036 Israeli violations of the ceasefire in the final three months of 2025. Meanwhile, Hezbollah faces pressure from the Lebanese government to disarm, but the group has rejected calls to give up its weapons, citing its right to resist what it describes as Israeli “expansionism”.

Source: Al Jazeera