YnetNews.com reports: “A high-ranking U.S. Treasury official said Monday during a visit to Beirut that Washington is pressing Lebanese authorities to curb the flow of funds to Hezbollah ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections and to prosecute individuals tied to a quasi-bank affiliated with the group.

Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley, who arrived with a delegation from the Treasury Department and the National Security Council, said the U.S. believes the Lebanese terror group is attempting to bring $1 billion into the country by the end of the year. ‘Exactly how many dollars they have brought in, we don’t know,’ he added.

Hurley said Lebanese authorities have made ‘great progress’ in targeting illicit financial flows but urged them to do more. He denied that Washington had set any deadlines, but said, ‘We were very frank with the president, the prime minister and other senior officials that there’s a window right now, particularly between now and the election.’…”