(Photo credit: Reuters)
Washington refuted the report and claimed Tehran ‘does not have money’ to support its allies in the Axis of Resistance
Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has received $200 million from Iran to help alleviate the suffering of displaced civilians uprooted from their homes by Israel’s brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing in Lebanon, Reuters reported exclusively on 7 October.
“Hezbollah has received $200 million from Iran to help Lebanese displaced by [Israel’s war] … Hezbollah received the cash last month despite a tightening US economic chokehold on Iran and increasing difficulties in getting funds to Tehran’s [allies],” sources said.
“Intermediaries who moved the money charged a 20 percent fee, reflecting the risks of dealing with [Hezbollah],” they added.
This is reportedly four times the normal fee.
Reuters, citing what it said was a “Hezbollah official,” said that “an amount had been secured and a plan for distributing it would be announced in the coming days.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry, Iran’s UN mission, and the Lebanese state did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Washington refuted the report. The money is “not there,” a State Department spokesman said.
Hezbollah is “trying to save face with fake stories about cash influxes from Iran,” the spokesman went on to claim.
“The US will continue to strangle Hezbollah’s finances through sanctions while supporting the ability of Lebanon’s legitimate government to rebuild the south.”
Iran is “running out of money and ways to move money” and “does not have money to fund its campaign of terror,” said a Treasury spokesperson.
Washington has continued to impose sanctions on both Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic.
Hezbollah’s leader Naim Qassem had said last month that the resistance would soon help provide housing to displaced civilians using “available resources and donations.”
Israel’s brutal war on Lebanon has resulted in the killing of thousands, the displacement of hundreds of thousands, and the destruction of entire villages along the border.
Tel Aviv has vowed to continue its occupation, ethnic cleansing, and destruction of civilian infrastructure – and openly threatens to prevent the displaced from returning to their towns.
Reconstruction funds from regional countries have been contingent on Hezbollah’s disarmament, which the resistance movement rejects.
In June this year, the Lebanese government agreed to an unconstitutional framework agreement during direct talks with Israel, brokered by Washington and carried out in violation of Lebanon’s laws.
The deal stipulates that Hezbollah must surrender its arms before occupation forces withdraw. Hezbollah, its allies, and other segments of Lebanese society have rejected it.
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