U.S. Treasury officials have confirmed that Iran has smuggled at least $1 billion to Hezbollah, a designated terrorist organization, despite the imposing sanctions from the United States this year. John Hurley, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, stated that Iran persists in its support for its proxy groups in the Middle East, even though the nation’s economy remains in a dire condition.
Hurley emphasized that there is an opportunity to cut off Iran’s funding streams while the regime is in a weakened state. ‘There’s a moment in Lebanon now. If we could get Hezbollah to disarm, the Lebanese people could get their country back,’ he said.
The official also argued that the key to reducing Iranian influence in the region is to stop the flow of money to Hezbollah. He pushed for increased pressure on Iran during a recent tour of several Middle Eastern nations, including Turkey, Lebanon, the UAE, and Israel.
Western countries have already imposed heavy sanctions on Iran over its refusal to negotiate a nuclear deal. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is purely for civilian purposes, and the United States has taken steps to counteract its potential for developing nuclear weapons, as seen in Operation Midnight Hammer.
Despite these efforts, Iran has continued its global destabilization activities. U.S. None official noted that along with Israel and Mexico, they succeeded in preventing an Iranian-backed assassination attempt on Israel’s ambassador to Mexico earlier this year. The Israeli foreign ministry expressed gratitude to Mexico for thwarting the plot and assured that their security agencies would continue to cooperate with global partners to counter terrorist threats from Iran and its proxies.