US seizes 13 web domains used by Hizbullah and affiliates

The US Justice Department announced Thursday (May 11) it had seized 13 web domains controlled by Lebanese Hizbullah, saying they were operated by sanctioned individuals and groups but using US internet registries.

The domains blocked included the personal site of Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah's deputy, Naim Qassem, and the main site of the Islamic Resistance Support Association, Hizbullah's fundraising arm.

The Islamic Resistance Support Association is under US sanctions.

The blocked domains also included sites controlled by Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV.

According to court records, the United States obtained court authorisation to seize five domains registered to the Public Interest Registry: moqawama.org, almanarnews.org, manarnews.org, almanar-tv.org and alshahid.org.

It also received authorisation to seize eight domains registered to Verisign Inc.: manartv.net, manarnews.net, almanar-tv.com, almanar-tv.net, alidaamouch.com, Ibrahim-alsayed.net, alemdad.net and naimkassem.net.

Visitors to the domains now see a large one-page statement in English and Arabic that reads, "This website has been seized", with the logos of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Commerce.

The Justice Department said the sites were registered with two US-based groups, Public Internet Registry and Verisign Inc.

"Today's web domain seizures deny terrorist organisations and affiliates significant sources of support and makes clear we will not allow these groups to use US infrastructure to threaten the American people," Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said in a statement.

"The Justice Department will continue to enforce economic sanctions as part of our commitment to deploy all available tools against threats from hostile nation-states and terrorist actors alike."

The United States designated Hizbullah a "foreign terrorist organisation" in 1997. Hizbullah is also designated a terrorist group by much of the West and most of the Arab League countries.

Under US law, Specially Designated Nationals and Specially Designated Global Terrorists may not obtain website and domain services in the United States without a license from the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Disrupting terrorist activity

"The domains seized through this operation are controlled by individuals and entities engaged in planning or perpetrating acts of terrorism against Americans and thus are not lawfully permitted to use American infrastructure," said US Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia.

"Operations like this disrupt terrorist activity by blocking one avenue these groups and individuals use to gather support and influence," she said.

"This seizure demonstrates the FBI's persistence in using all of our tools to hold accountable terrorists and their affiliates when they violate US laws," said Robert R. Wells of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division.

"The FBI, along with our international partners, will continue to seek out those individuals who contribute to the advancement of Lebanese Hizbullah's malign activities and ensure they are brought to justice, regardless of where, or how, they attempt to hide."

The move curbs the Iran-backed group's ability "to peddle their dangerous violent ideology across the globe", said Matthew S. Axelrod of the US Department of Commerce.

"This co-ordinated enforcement action demonstrates that the US government will creatively use all available enforcement tools to thwart those who seek to perpetrate acts of terror," he said.

Iranian media hub in Lebanon

Inside Lebanon, local journalists told Al-Mashareq, Hizbullah has transformed Beirut's southern suburb into an Iranian media hub, with dozens of satellite channels based there conducting propaganda and incitement campaigns.

These television and radio channels rail against the Gulf states and United States, as part of an Iranian strategy to directly influence public opinion outside Iran via media disinformation campaigns, they said.

Most of these channels operate under the auspices of Iran's Islamic Radio and Television Union (IRTVU), established in 2007 as an affiliate of the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

The ministry owns more than 210 allied companies in 35 countries, including Lebanon, and comprises about 3,000 media professionals, 110 satellite channels and 30 radio stations.

Lebanese activists and journalists claim Hizbullah is breaking Lebanese law by creating these media platforms, and violating the country's sovereignty by broadcasting programmes and disinformation campaigns that attack its allies.