Israel has imposed sanctions on Coral Oil, a Lebanese energy company, after the Defense Ministry's National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing alleged the firm supplied fuel to a Hezbollah-owned company, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Thursday.

Source: JFeed

The ministry said Coral Oil transferred roughly 130,000 litres of diesel and gasoline — yaani about 1.3 lakh litres — to Al-Amanah, a fuel company owned by Hezbollah that Israel designated a terrorist organisation in 2020. The US Treasury also sanctioned Al-Amana fuel stations in February 2020 over their Hezbollah links.

Explaining the move, the ministry said fuel is "not merely a commercial product" for Hezbollah, arguing that the group uses refined fuel to move weapons and military components, run generators and infrastructure, and sustain its underground network — so that supplying it, in the ministry's view, amounts to supplying operational capability.

Source: Israel Ministry of Defense via Government Press Office

According to the ministry, Coral Oil is registered in Britain but owned by Lebanon's A. Yamin Group S.A.L. (Holding), and conducts its business through its Lebanese branch. Three brothers — Oscar, Antonio and Edgar Yamin — have served as the company's directors since January 2017, the ministry said. The sanction reflects what the ministry described as a broader shift toward targeting the trade routes and supply chains that keep Hezbollah running, not only entities directly identified with the group.

Coral Oil had issued no fresh public response to Thursday's Israeli sanction in the reports reviewed for this story. In its standing published position, the company and the Yamin family deny any partnership with, or influence from, Hezbollah or any political party, and say Coral and Liquigas suspended all commercial dealings with Al-Amana in February 2020, immediately after the US sanctions on Al-Amana were announced.

Source: Coral Oil — published company response