Hizballah is a Lebanon-based terrorist group that receives weapons, training, and funding from Iran, which the Secretary of State designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984. Hizballah maintains a large terrorist network and is responsible for multiple large-scale attacks. These include: the 1983 suicide truck bombings of U.S. Embassy Beirut and the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks in Beirut; the 1984 attack on the U.S. Embassy Beirut annex; and the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847. Hizballah was also implicated, along with Iran, in the 1992 attacks on the Israeli embassy in Argentina as well as the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Jewish Mutual Aid Society in Buenos Aires. In 2012, Hizballah operatives conducted a successful suicide bombing attack in Bulgaria. Law enforcement has thwarted attempted Hizballah terrorist attacks and plotting in countries such as Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Egypt, Kuwait, Nigeria, Peru, and Thailand.

On October 8, 1997, the U.S. Department of State designated Hizballah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. Later, on October 31, 2001, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Hizballah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended. As a result, all of Hizballah’s property, and interests in property, subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with Hizballah. It is a crime to knowingly provide, or to attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to Hizballah.