US Offers $10mn Reward For Info On IRGC Financial Distributor To Hezbollah
Muhammad Ja’far Qasir, also known as Shaykh Salah and Hossein Gholi, is a key Hezbollah financier
The US State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on the IRGC financial distributor to Hezbollah, Muhammad Qasir.
The "Reward for Justice" program affiliated with the US State Department that the reward will be given for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Hezbollah.
said in a statement on Tuesday
“Muhammad Ja’far Qasir, also known as Shaykh Salah and Hossein Gholi, is a key Hezbollah financier, who provides funding for Hezbollah operations through a number of illegal smuggling and procurement activities and other criminal enterprises,” read the statement.
In addition to funding Hezbollah's activities, Qasir channels funds from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF).
It is through him that the IRGC-QF is able to hide its involvement in the sale of oil and other extractives, which is a crucial source of revenue for Hezbollah, the IRGC-QF, the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad, and others.
Qasir leads Hezbollah’s Unit 108, which coordinates closely with the IRGC-QF to facilitate the transfer of weapons, technology, and other support from Syria to Lebanon.
Qasir was designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US Department of Treasury in May 2018.
All Qasir's properties and interests under US jurisdiction are blocked as a result of this designation, and US citizens are prohibited from engaging in business with Qasir.
Washington has designated Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization, which means providing material support or resources to it is illegal.
The United Arab Emirates said Wednesday that it withdrew from a US-led Middle East maritime security coalition two months ago after evaluating its security relationships.
The UAE move roughly corresponds with Saudi Arabia’s decision in early March to restore diplomatic relations with Iran, which has been much discussed as a shift in Riyadh’s regional policies. The deal was brokered by China which further highlighted a weakening of the decades-long reliance on the United States by Persian Gulf Arab oil producers.
"As a result of our ongoing evaluation of effective security cooperation with all partners, two months ago, the UAE withdrew its participation in the Combined Maritime Forces," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM.
The Combined Maritime Forces is a 34-nation task force, headquartered at the US naval base in Bahrain, working on security, counterterrorism and counter-piracy in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf areas. But in fact, the US and Israel were trying to forge a regional coalition to contain Iran, including an air defense network.
The region contains some of the world's most important shipping routes where, since 2019, suspected Iranian attacks began against oil tankers amid tensions with the United States. The Obama, Trump and Biden administrations chose not to retaliate against Iranian naval provocations over the years or show a convincing military deterrent response.
Former President Donald Trump was said to have blinked when suspected Iranian drones and missiles hit Saudi oil facilities in September 2019, inflicting heavy damage. Reports at the time said that Trump changed his mind about a military response at the last minute.
The statement said the UAE was committed to dialogue and diplomatic engagement to advance regional security and stability, and that it was committed to ensuring navigation safety in its seas in accordance with international law.
However, five weeks ago, Iran seized two tankers within a week in Gulf waters near the Strait of Hormuz. The second tanker, the Niovi, had been travelling from Dubai toward the UAE's Fujairah port.
The UAE also said that a report by the Wall Street Journalon Tuesday which, citing US and Gulf sources, said the UAE was frustrated by the lack of US response to the recent tanker seizures, was a "mischaracterization" of conversations between the two countries.
However, the UAE decision to leave the maritime coalition and speak about “diplomatic engagement” - possibly referring to Iran - to enhance its security, shows that the WSJ report was not off the mark.
The UAE announcement will be seen in Tehran as a triumph, since the Iranian regime has proclaimed the goal of expelling the United States from the region to be at the top of its agenda.
The White House will face more domestic criticism by Republicans, who have already charged that the administration's flirtations with Iran to revive the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal, has driven the Saudis to seek alternative security arrangements.
Iran, however, might press its luck too hard. If Tehran was aware of the UAE decision, its new seizure of vessels in the Persian Gulf might demonstrate to the Emiratis that Tehran will not be satisfied with a more neutral UAE position and will use military force to further intimidate regional countries.
Following the killing of at least three during clashes with Taliban forces, the commander of the IRGC Air Force said Monday that “such conflicts should not be overstated.”
Amir Ali Hajizadeh said of Saturday's clash: “Some people are to turn these conflicts into a war, but such a war will never happen."
Two Iranian border guardsand one Taliban fighter were killed after shooting broke out near a border post. It was not immediately clear what had caused the incident, in which several people were also injured, but it came amid tensions over water rights.
Iran has accused Afghanistan's Taliban of violating a 1973 treaty by restricting the flow of water from the Helmand River to Iran's parched eastern regions, an accusation denied by the Taliban.
Hajizadeh admitted only that “there have been some incidents on the border that are being managed by the forces there, and we should not add fuel to the fire," in a bid to downplay the escalation.
Regime voices including Esmail Kosari, a member of Iranian Parliament’s National Security Commission, have also massively understated the killing and wounding of Iranian border guards saying it was a "disagreement and fighting between children of the same household", suggesting the regime is working hard to ensure no further escalation.
His statements angered many Iranians saying there is no similarity and brotherhood between Iranians and the Taliban militants who have been responsible for years of brutal atrocities against the Afghan people.
The United States Tuesday imposed punitive measures on two Syrian money services it said help the government maintain access to the international financial system in violation of sanctions.
This was Washington's first action targeting Syria since its readmittance to the Arab League.
The US Treasury Department in a statement accused the two money service businesses, Al-Fadel Exchange and Al-Adham Exchange Company, of helping President Bashar al-Assad's government and its allies, Hezbollah and Iran's Quds Force, an arm of its Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
The sanctions, imposed under the Caesar Act that also levied a tough round of sanctions on Syria in 2020, come after Arab states earlier this month turned the page on years of confrontation with Assad and readmitted Syria to the Arab League, a milestone in his regional rehabilitation even as the West continues to shun him after years of civil war.
The move came as what seemed to be policy change by Saudi Arabia as it restored diplomatic ties with Iran in March after seven years tensions.
Regional countries - including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others - had for years supported anti-Assad rebels, but Syria's army - backed by Iran, Russia and allied paramilitary groups - regained most of the country. The icy ties with Assad began to thaw more quickly after devastating earthquakes in Syria and Turkey in February.
The United States has said it will not normalize ties with Assad and has said Syria did not merit readmission into the Arab League.
The Ukrainian Parliament approved the country’s National Security and Defense Council's decision to impose sanctions on Iran.
A massive 328 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill on Monday to endorse the decision to impose sanctions on Iran for 50 years for allegedly supplying Russia with weapons during its ongoing invasion.
"The resolution synchronizes Ukrainian sanctions with the actions of the entire civilized world on the path to the complete isolation of Iran," the parliament’s statement said.
Among the sanctions are a ban on trade, the transit of Iranian resources, flights, and transportation within Ukraine, according to Ukrainian media.
Additionally, any investment in Iran and the transfer of technologies and intellectual property rights by its residents will be banned.
Iranians will also be prohibited from using electronic means to conduct payments, while the Ukrainian National Bank will not be permitted to register international payment systems operated by Iran.
On Sunday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a law seeking sanctions against Iran for 50 years after Tehran supplied Moscow with munitions and drones. Three days earlier he urged Iranians not to cooperate with Russia.
Iran has supplied hundreds of Kamikaze drones to Russia that have been used to target mainly Ukrainian infrastructure and civilians since September 2022. Tehran has denied that it has sent any drones to Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, but Kyiv has presented overwhelming material evidence showing Russia has used Iranian-made Shahed drones.
Russia launched its 17th mass air attack this month targeting Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, the third in as many days, this time using only Iranian-supplied drones.
Kyiv City Military Administration said that at around 5 am on May 30 several waves of Iranian Shahed drones were launched from different directions against the capital. No missiles were used this time.
"The attack was massive, came from different directions, in several waves," Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said on the Telegram.
"A massive attack!" Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app. "Do not leave shelters."
Air defenses intercepted over 20 Shahed drones, but falling debris caused casualties and fires. Damage to a high-rise building in Kyiv’s Holosiivkyi District killed one person and injured three others, Kyiv Independent reported.
Russia has used hundreds of the Iranian supplied Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) since last September to attack Ukraine’s infrastructure, civilian targets and try to overwhelm air defenses.
Russia has repeatedly attacked Kyiv in May using a combination of drones and missiles, mostly at night, in an apparent attempt to undermine Ukrainians' will to fight after more than 15 months of war.
Although the United States and its European allies have strongly condemned Iran for supplying drones and other weapons to Russia, major European countries have so far have only announced some sanctions but have not designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist entity.
The air attacks come as Ukraine prepares a counter-offensive backed with Western weapons to try to drive Russian occupiers out of territory seized since Moscow launched its unprovoked invasion in February 2022.
