Hezbollah
Hezbollah and the U.S.
Posted: March 31, 2008
Prior to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Hezbollah was responsible for the deaths of more Americans around the world than any other terrorist organization. An April 1983 suicide bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut killed more than 60 people, including 17 Americans. Following the attack, Hezbollah promised "not to allow a single American to remain on Lebanese soil…we mean every inch of Lebanese territory."
The following October, a Hezbollah truck bombing killed 241 American marines at the multinational force barracks in Beirut. Hezbollah is also responsible for the 1985 hijacking of TWA flight 847, during which a U.S. Navy diver was killed, and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American servicemen. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Iran's elite military unit whose Quds Force serves as Iran's primary mechanism for supporting terrorist activity outside of Iran, provided Hezbollah with the intelligence, training, weapons and funds necessary to carry out the aforementioned terror attacks.
The U.S. designated Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997 following the series of Hezbollah attacks against Americans overseas. Hezbollah was listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2001.
In addition to its activity against American interests abroad, Hezbollah maintains a network of cells in the U.S., according to the FBI. These American-based cells use funds raised in the U.S. through criminal activities, including credit card fraud, illegal drug trade, cigarette smuggling and theft, to help finance the organization's terrorist activities abroad.
While the Hezbollah cells in the U.S. have been mostly limited to fundraising, "they have the capacity to inflict terrible damage on the United States," according to Richard Falkenrath, the Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism of the New York Police Department. American counterterrorism officials have stated that Hezbollah may be motivated to launch an attack in the continental U.S. if the American military carries out operations against Hezbollah leaders or Iran or Syria, Hezbollah's state sponsors.
In July 2006, Hezbollah's spokesman in Iran, Mojtaba Bigdeli, stated that Hezbollah is prepared to dispatch its operatives to "every corner of the world to jeopardize Israel and America's interests." He continued, "if America wants to ignite World War Three ... we welcome it."
The following is a sampling of Hezbollah-related activity in the U.S., including Americans who have been indicted or convicted in the U.S. on terrorism charges relating to Hezbollah:
- Hor and Amera Akl, an Ohio couple who both hold dual American and Lebanese citizenship, were arrested in June 2010 for attempting to provide funds and vehicles for Hezbollah to use against Israel.
- In February 2010, three Miami-based businessmen were arrested in Florida for smuggling electronics to a Hezbollah-operated shopping center in Paraguay that serves as Hezbollah's central headquarters in the tri-border region of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. The men – Khaled T. Safadi, Ulises Talavera and Emilio Gonzalez-Neira – allegedly attempted to conceal the destination of their prohibited shipments by creating fake invoices containing false addresses and fictitious consignees on required export paperwork.
- Four men were indicted in Philadelphia in November 2009 for attempting to provide Hezbollah with a cache of weapons and funds. The indictment filed against Moussa Ali Hamdan, Hassan Hodroj, Dib Hani Harb and Hasan Antar Karaki followed a separate investigation in which at least 12 men attempted to transfer stolen goods and send anti-aircraft missiles to Lebanon. Dani Nemr Tarraf, the apparent ringleader of the group, allegedly told federal authorities that he was conspiring to acquire a large quantity of weapons for Hezbollah.
- Patrick Nayyar of Queens, New York, was indicted in October 2009 for attempting to provide weapons, ammunition and vehicles to Hezbollah. Nayyar, an Indian national residing in the U.S. illegally, has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
- In June 2009, Javed Iqbal and Saleh Elahwal were sentenced in a Manhattan federal court to nearly six years in prison and 17 months in prison, respectively, for distributing broadcasts of Al Manar, Hezbollah's TV station, and providing material support to Hezbollah.
- Fawzi Mustapha Assi, an automobile engineer from Dearborn, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in December 2008 for providing night vision equipment and GPS technology to Hezbollah.
- A Michigan-based charity described by the Treasury Department as a "Hezbollah front" was raided and closed in July 2007. The Goodwill Charitable Organization was also added to the Treasury Department's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list. Federal authorities also raided the Michigan offices of Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization as part of the investigation of Hezbollah's financial supporters.
- A group of approximately 20 men ran a criminal enterprise in Dearborn, Michigan, trafficking in contraband cigarettes, cigarette papers and Viagra, as well as stolen infant formula and toilet paper. Prosecutors contend that the ring diverted some of the funds to Hezbollah. Naturalized U.S. citizen Karim Hassan Nasser pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in September 2006, as did Theodore Schenk of Miami Beach, Florida and Imad Hamadeh of Dearborn Heights.
- Yousef Kourani, a Lebanese citizen living in Dearborn, Michigan, was sentenced in June 2005 to four-and-a-half years in prison for raising money for Hezbollah to purchase technology equipment. The indictment described Kourani as a "member, fighter, recruiter and fund-raiser for Hezbollah."
- In 2005, at least 125 people were arrested in Los Angeles for selling counterfeit goods, including designer handbags, DVDs and tobacco, in order to raise money for Hezbollah, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. A total of $16 million in knock-off items was seized, as well as $3.5 million in cash.
- Dearborn resident Elias Mohamad Akhdar was sentenced in January 2004 to nearly six years in prison for his role in a cigarette-smuggling ring designed to finance Hezbollah. Another Dearborn resident, Hassan M. Makki, received a sentence of nearly five years in prison in connection with the scheme.
- In 2002, Dearborn resident Ali Boumelhem was sentenced to 44 months in prison for trying to send weapons and ammunition to Hezbollah.
- Salim Boughader Mucharrafille, the owner of a Lebanese café in Tijuana, was arrested in 2002 for smuggling 200 people, including Hezbollah supporters, from Mexico into the U.S. Boughader reportedly admitted that one of the individuals he smuggled into the U.S. worked for Al Manar, Hezbollah's television network.
- Mohamad Hammoud was charged in March 2001 for raising funds and conspiring to provide "a variety of items that Hizballah would use to engage in violent attacks and to film such attacks for use in Hizballah [sic] propaganda efforts," according to court documents. Hammoud allegedly procured dual-use technologies for Hezbollah, including goggles, global positioning systems, stun guns, naval equipment, nitrogen cutters and laser range finders. Hammoud and his brother, Chawki, were convicted the following year of providing material support to Hezbollah through their cigarette-smuggling ring that knowingly directed money to the terrorist organization.
- At least three naturalized U.S. citizens – Said Mohamad Harb, Bassam Youssef Hamood and Hussein Chahrour – and U.S. citizen Angela Georgia Tsioumas are among a group of nine individuals who bought cigarettes in North Carolina, shipped them to Michigan and sold them at a price lower than the tax-inflated Michigan price. From 1995 to 2000, the scheme generated more than $7 million used to procure dual-use technologies for Hezbollah. Items were reportedly purchased for Hezbollah in both the U.S. and Canada, including goggles, global positioning systems, stun guns, naval equipment, nitrogen cutters and laser range finders.
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