LARRY KUDLOW: Iran is the master planner of Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and other terror groups

Janet Yellen’s Treasury Department announced today that the U.S. has issued sanctions aimed at disrupting funding for the Hamas terrorist group after its barbaric attack on Israel last Oct. 7.   

The sanctions include 10 senior members and “financial facilitators” of the Hamas terrorist group, as well as roughly 1,000 individuals and entities connected to Iranian terror financing. The 10 individuals related to Hamas are based in Gaza, Qatar, Turkey, Algeria and Sudan. The sanctions struck Hamas, Hezbollah and other terror organizations in the Middle East.   

A senior Treasury official labeled them part of a “massive financial network,” and then, according to the Treasury press release, Janet Yellen says: “The United States is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’ financiers and facilitators following its brutal and unconscionable massacre of Israeli civilians, including children.”   

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My first response is: OK, that’s good. Better late than never. My second response is: baloney. This is purely a defensive, backpedaling maneuver after across-the-board criticism leveled at the administration that it has not beefed up Iranian sanctions and has not defunded Iran — indeed, has not executed Iranian sanctions in years. This is the Biden administration running scared, trying to blow smoke at everybody now, sanctioning thousands of people — which is almost like sanctioning no one.   

There’s one country not on the list of sanctions: Iran. Last week, Janet Yellen said Iranian sanctions have never been relaxed, but everybody knows the facts speak otherwise. Over the past three years, Iran’s oil revenues, foreign exchange currencies, energy sales to China — all of them have sky-rocketed.   

The maximum sanction campaign during the Donald Trump years that bankrupted Iran and stopped their oil production sales has been abandoned by the Bidens. That’s what the facts say. Also, does Iran not qualify as a “financial facilitator”? Really? 

I’d say Iran is the financial facilitator. Add to that, “master planner” and “chief puppeteer” of Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and other terror groups that are sponsored by Iran. If the Bidens ever got serious about maximum economic, banking, energy and business sanctions on Iran, Iranian shipments, Iranian individuals and entities, then they’d return to bankruptcy, which is where Donald Trump left them.   

Then, the money financing Hamas and all the terror groups would dry up. If President Biden truly wants to totally support Israel, first he should let the IDF do what it’s going to do. Second, bankrupt Iran through serious sanction enforcement. Don’t want to make this any harder than it needs to be. 

This article is adapted from Larry Kudlow’s opening commentary on the October 18, 2023, edition of “Kudlow.”