Iran sent $1b to Hezbollah in four months as water crisis worsens, researcher says

Beni Sabti claimed that Iran was funding Hezbollah through smugglers in Iraq, Syria and Türkiye due to power outages and pollution in Tehran.

There is Iran funnel Nearly a billion dollars have been transferred to Hezbollah through smuggling routes in northern Iraq, Syria and Türkiye in the past four months, despite an unprecedented domestic water crisis, constant power outages and intense air pollution, Beni Sabti said on Wednesday.

Sabti is a researcher in the Iran program at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies.

He argued that the regime remained in “total denial” after the war and prioritized regional proxies over essential services.

Sabeti stated that the Iranian leadership “did not understand the message”, adding that the authorities told them that they were shot at because the upper echelon survived and remained in power, but “nothing happened” and they could continue as before.

As a result, he said, the billions of dollars flowing to terrorist groups are not invested in water, electricity or pollution reduction, while ordinary Iranians “bear a heavy burden” without organized opposition leadership to challenge the regime.

In the fields of nuclear, terrorism and missiles

inside nuclear fieldSabti gave limited reassurance, saying that many nuclear scientists directly involved in bomb work were killed during the war, creating a serious obstacle to reviving the arms pipeline.

“From the nuclear standpoint, we have a bit more time, a bit more calm,” he noted, adding that Tehran “does not dare touch” certain nuclear thresholds because it knows that would be a “red line” for the United States.

In response, he warned that Iran was trying to revive its missile and terrorist capabilities, saying those areas were not front and center in Washington. He did highlight one important limitation, though: “They don’t have launchers. Producing missiles alone doesn’t work; they can’t fire without launchers.” He said public fears about claims of “2,000 missiles” should be taken into account.

Sabti paints a disturbing picture when it comes to terrorism against Jewish targets abroad: “They’re constantly exploring these options. They’ve been collecting information about synagogues for years, even in the ’80s and ’90s.”

He noted the attacks in Argentina and explained that “they constantly collect information and wait for the day it’s needed.” Iranians “even recruit local criminals” in various countries – “There was such a case in Denmark, there was also in England.”

Despite this, Israel managed to “prevent such conspiracies in Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Greece and many other places”, including the recent assassination attempt against the Israeli ambassador in Mexico.

Is this the end of the ‘axis of resistance’ era?

Sabti is clear: “This is not the end of ‘resistance’. Terrorism will never stop. It is the only way Iranians know.” He adds firmly: “Iran without terrorism is not Iran; it is a different regime. They can put everything aside, but terrorism is something they cannot put aside.”

Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations have “essentially become their sons,” he says. Although Iran has “weakened in the region in the last year,” it “continues to blindly support them and try to bring them back to life.”

“We are weakened, yes, but we are not giving up. That is the problem,” Sabti ruled.