On February 26, 2020 the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated three Lebanon-based officials as well as twelve Lebanon-based entities pursuant to Executive Order 13224, for their ownership or control by, or leadership role in , the Martyrs Foundation, an organization that was designated in 2007 for supporting terrorism by providing financial support to the families of killed or imprisoned members of Hizballah, HAMAS and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. OFAC has linked each of these entities and individuals to Hizballah, which was designated as Foreign Terrorist Organization by the Department of State in 1997 and by OFAC in 2001.
As a result of these designations, all US property of the designated parties is blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving designated parties or their property. In addition, foreign financial institutions may be sanctioned for opening or operating a correspondent account or a payable-through account in the US on behalf of the designated entities.