Iran smuggles $1 billion to Hezbollah despite heavy international sanctions
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The Iranian regime has managed to smuggle at least $1 billion to its terrorist proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon this year despite heavy sanctions, senior US Treasury Department officials said.
Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley said Iran remains committed to its proxy groups in the Middle East. Still, he says, in Iran’s current weak state, there is an opportunity to cut off the flow of financing.
Hurley said, “There is such a moment in Lebanon now. If we can get Hezbollah to disarm, the Lebanese people can take their country back.”
“Despite everything Iran has been through, even though the economy is not doing very well, they are still pumping a lot of money into their terrorist proxies,” he continued.
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The United States says the regime of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei managed to smuggle $1 billion to Hezbollah this year. (Getty Images)
“The key to this is to eliminate Iranian influence and control, which starts with the money they pump into Hezbollah,” he said.
Hurley pressed for increased pressure campaign during this weekend’s tour of Türkiye, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
Western countries are already imposing heavy sanctions over Tehran’s reluctance to negotiate the nuclear deal. The regime insists that its nuclear development program is for civilian purposes only.
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John Hurley, Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes, says there is an opportunity to cut off Hezbollah’s connection with Iran. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump ordered the bombing of Iran’s key nuclear facilities in Operation Midnight Hammer earlier this year. US officials say this succeeded in disrupting Tehran’s progress towards the bomb.
Iran nevertheless continued its efforts to spread chaos around the world. U.S. officials say they, along with Israel and Mexico, thwarted an Iran-backed assassination attempt on Israel’s ambassador to Mexico earlier this year.
“We thank the security and law enforcement forces in Mexico for thwarting an Iranian-led terrorist network that aimed to attack Israel’s ambassador in Mexico,” Israel’s foreign ministry told Fox News on Friday. he said.
Israeli Ambassador to Mexico Einat Kranz Neiger. (Gerdo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“The Israeli security and intelligence community, in full cooperation with security and intelligence agencies around the world, will continue to work tirelessly to thwart terrorist threats from Iran and its proxies to Israeli and Jewish targets around the world.”
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A US official told Reuters that the plot targeting Ambassador Einat Kranz Neiger “has been contained and poses no current threat.”
Fox News’ Greg Norman and Reuters contributed to this report.
