ISTANBUL - The United States seeks to take advantage of a "moment" in Lebanon in which it can cut Iranian funding to Hezbollah and press the group to disarm, the U.S. Treasury Department's top sanctions official said.

In a late Friday interview, John Hurley, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said Iran has managed to funnel about $1 billion to Hezbollah this year despite a raft of Western sanctions that have battered its economy.