Abdallah Safi-Al-Din (born on July 8, 1960, in

Southern Lebanon Southern Lebanon () is the area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. The two entities were divided from the same province in the early 1990s. The Rashaya and Western Beqaa districts, the southernmost distr ...

) is a senior

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

official who serves as the group's representative to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, playing a central role in financial and operational coordination between Hezbollah and the Iranian regime. He is considered a key figure in maintaining Hezbollah's strategic and diplomatic ties with Iran while also overseeing global financial operations linked to criminal enterprises. He is cousin to former Hezbollah Secretary-General

Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah (, ; 31 August 196027 September 2024) was a Lebanese cleric and politician who served as the third secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militia, from 1992 until his assassination in 2024. Bor ...

Role in Hezbollah

Envoy to Iran

Abdallah Safi-Al-Din functions as Hezbollah's primary liaison with the Iranian regime, facilitating financial and logistical support for the organization. His role includes managing strategic ties and securing funding through Iranian institutions.

Leadership in criminal networks

Since at least 2008, Safi-Al-Din has led a global Hezbollah criminal network involved in

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

Arms trafficking Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms, explosives, and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal tra ...

, and

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

. This network operates under the Lebanese Hizballah External Security Organization Business Affairs Component (BAC) and has links to

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

drug cartels such as

Medellín cartel The Medellín Cartel () was a powerful and highly organized Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organization originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia, that was founded and led by Pablo Escobar. It is often considered to be the first major ...

and other international criminal organizations.

Sanctions and designations

U.S. Treasury Department designation

In 2018, the

U.S. Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...

designated Abdallah Safi-Al-Din as a

Specially Designated Global Terrorist A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the U.S. Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of U.S. Executive ...

(SDGT) due to his involvement in Hezbollah's financial operations and illicit activities. His designation underscores his role in coordinating financial networks that fund Hezbollah's global operations.

Family ties

Safi-Al-Din has strong familial connections within Hezbollah's leadership: * He is a cousin of former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. * He is the brother of Hashem Safieddine, who formerly headed Hezbollah's Executive Council.

Diplomatic and financial activities

Financial intermediary

Safi-Al-Din has played a key role in enabling Hezbollah's financial access through Iranian institutions. He has collaborated with: * Iran's Central Bank to facilitate financial transactions. * Mohammed Ibrahim Bazzi, a Hezbollah financier, to strengthen Hezbollah's banking access between Iran and Lebanon.

Diplomatic engagements

His diplomatic presence extends beyond finance, having met with Iranian Foreign Minister

Abbas Araghchi Sayyid Abbas Araghchi (, ; also spelled Araqchi, born 5 December 1962) is an Iranian diplomat and politician, who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran since August 2024. He previously served as the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign A ...

in 2020, demonstrating his integral role in maintaining Hezbollah-Iran relations.

Criminal operations

Global reach

Under Safi-Al-Din's leadership, the BAC network has expanded Hezbollah's financial and operational footprint across Latin America,

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The network's ties to drug cartels and international money laundering operations serve as a significant source of revenue for Hezbollah.

Post-Mughniyeh era

Following the assassination of

Imad Mughniyeh Imad Fayez Mughniyeh (; 7 December 1962 – 12 February 2008), also known by his nom de guerre al-Hajj Radwan (), was a Lebanese militant leader who was the founding member of Lebanon's Islamic Jihad Organization and number two in Hezbollah's ...

in 2008, Safi-Al-Din took over Hezbollah's criminal operations. He has since worked closely with Adham Tabaja, another key Hezbollah operative, to maintain and expand Hezbollah's illicit financial networks.

References

{{reflist Hezbollah Hezbollah members Iran Axis of Resistance Drug Enforcement Administration Drug traffickers Money laundering Arms trafficking Lebanon Living people 1960 births