Reuters
Source: Reuters
Hezbollah has received $200 million from Iran to help Lebanese displaced by this year’s war with Israel, two people with direct knowledge of the transfer said, in what would be the first significant aid from the group to supporters who bore the brunt of the conflict.
The US disputed the claim. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement that the money “is not there,” accusing Hezbollah of “trying to save face with fake stories about cash influxes from Iran.”
A Treasury spokesperson said Iran was “running out of money and ways to move money” and that Tehran “does not have money to fund its campaign of terror.”
Hezbollah received the cash last month despite a tightening US economic chokehold on Iran and increasing difficulties in getting funds to Tehran’s Lebanese ally, said the people.
Intermediaries who moved the money charged a 20% fee, reflecting the risks of dealing with the group, they said. One said this was four times the normal fee.
Asked for comment, a Hezbollah official said an amount had been secured and a plan for distributing it would be announced in the coming days, without elaborating on the source of the funds.
