Hezbollah flags flutter as a convoy of tanker trucks carrying Iranian fuel oil arrive at al-Ain village in northeastern Lebanon, September 16, 2021. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz has signed a seizure order against a Lebanon-based company that allegedly supplies the Hezbollah terror group with equipment for the production of precision-guided missiles.

“The ministry’s seizure order will enable the introduction of the company into international financial ‘black lists’ and will greatly hinder its activity,” the country’s defense ministry stated Thursday.

The directive is part of a wide range of activities to step up economic pressures against Hezbollah’s precision-guided missile project, the defense ministry said. According to the IDF, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is involved in Hezbollah’s attempt to develop and acquire precision guided missiles in Lebanon. In recent years, Hezbollah has continually threatened to fire rockets at Israel from Lebanon.

Following joint work of the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate and the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing in the Ministry of Defense, Gantz signed the seizure order against Shreif Sanitary Co. and its owner, Haytham Ahmad Muhammad Shreif.

According to Israel, Shreif Sanitary is registered in Lebanon and conducts commercial business activities on a regular basis with Hezbollah.

“It provides Hezbollah with equipment for use in projects related to the production of precise munition, which threatens the State of Israel,” the ministry stated. “The company is a preferred supplier of Hezbollah, is fully aware of the organization’s work and supplies Hezbollah with equipment at a reduced price.”

The order is for the temporary seizure of $17,000 that was transferred from the Hezbollah to Shreif Sanitary and its owner to “foil the activities of a terrorist organization and impair its abilities to further its goals.”

“This order is an integral part of the campaign conducted against the Lebanese project. It is a clear and sharp message to every commercial entity that assistance provided to and business with terror organizations are unacceptable and will negatively affect their ability to operate within the international financial system,” Israel’s defense establishment warned.

Although Israel does not want war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, it is prepared to face about 2,000 rockets a day from the armed group if hostilities breaks out, a senior Israeli military official told AFP in recent days.