The websites also served as a live online television broadcast channel, Al-etejah TV, which expressly stated that parts of its communications were published by the terrorist organization.
Under U.S. law, designated entities like Kata’ib Hizballah are prohibited from obtaining or using goods or services including domain services and websites without a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control. A U.S. company based in Reston, Virginia owned and operated the seized websites or domain names.
In a statement, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said, “Seizures like these are critical to preventing designated entities and terrorist organizations from using U.S. websites to recruit new members and promote their twisted world views. While this case is a reminder that terrorists don’t need to step foot in our country to further their aims, today’s actions show that the Department will do what it takes to stop them.”
On the other hand, “The Bureau of Industry and Security’s Office of Export Enforcement will continue to aggressively disrupt Iranian backed terrorist organizations such as Kata’ib Hizballah from utilizing U.S. based online networks and services in violation of U.S. law,” said P. Lee Smith, who is performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the Department of Commerce.
