U.S. State Department Issues $10 Million Bounty On Mohammed Kawtharani

Senior Hezbollah Leader Advancing Iran’s Global Terror Campaign

 (New York, N.Y.) – Last week, the U.S. State Department offered a $10 million reward for information on Lebanese Hezbollah’s senior military commander in Iraq, Mohammed Kawtharani. Kawtharani, who was first designated by the U.S. Department of Treasury as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2013, has played an integral role in advancing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s support for proxy terrorist groups across the Middle East.

Kawtharani’s 2013 global terrorist designation resulted from his efforts to fund proxy militia forces and facilitate Iran’s global terror campaign in Iraq. Under his leadership, Iran’s operatives have violently suppressed protests, attacked foreign diplomatic missions, and engaged in organized criminal activity. By including Kawtharani in its Rewards for Justice Program, the U.S. has increased pressure on Hezbollah and doubled down on its April 2019 commitment to disrupt the financial mechanism of Hezbollah - which provides training, funding, and logistical support to Iraqi Shiite militia groups.

In one of the few available profiles on this terrorist leader, United Against Nuclear Iran’s (UANI) resource, Mohammad Kawtharani, outlines Kawtharani’s background and modus operandi, as well as his role in establishing Hezbollah’s footprint in Iraq, and influence on the Iraqi political system. Kawtharani’s responsibilities in Iraq have only grown after Qassem Soleimani’s death, especially in coordinating among Iran’s fractious allies in Iraq. Tehran’s control over Shi’a militias has made it the dominant military, political, and diplomatic power broker there, but its quest for domination and subversion of Iraqi interests to its own has weakened Iraq’s central government and impeded its ability to provide for the welfare of its citizens.

To read UANI’s resource, Mohammad Kawtharani, please click here.

To explore UANI’s website, Eye on Hezbollah, please click here.

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