A crisis suffered by Hezbollah and Iran…an Israeli report reveals
The report pointed to a liquidity crisis facing Hezbollah, as the majority of its budget was arriving via plane to Damascus, and then the money was transferred across the border to Lebanon. He also touched on the impact of the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, which was considered a major ally of Iran, which prompted the latter to evacuate its officials and soldiers from Syria. The report pointed out that Hezbollah, which suffered a financial blow, will struggle to recover from this economic crisis that has weakened it.
Iranian strategy
The newspaper says that Iran is competing for power and influence in the Middle East despite US sanctions, as its merchants and financiers deceived Western officials with a complex financial system built around countries friendly to Iran, using groups affiliated with it, trading weapons with Russia, and receiving payments for oil from China and India.
This situation remained until October 7, 2023, when the attack launched by Hamas shook the entire region, initially undermining Iran’s network. A year later, Tehran looks like the biggest loser on the economic front of the war.
A secret financial network
To evade sanctions, many of the supply chains that Iran relies on to move capital and goods to other countries pass through legitimately friendly countries, and to less friendly countries, often in secret. But now, the newspaper says, other major economies in the Middle East can… , to conduct trade using simpler and shorter routes, and to have more options when war makes it difficult to transport goods.
Aside from that, Iran’s trade and banking, as well as its money transfer network to various organizations that help it buy its regional influence, are conducted in secret out of necessity, and are therefore also more vulnerable.
Loss of smuggling routes
“The Marker” says that Iran is facing difficulty in transferring weapons or money to Hezbollah and the Palestinian territories, because a lot of equipment and supplies were passing through Syria, and the alternative is to transfer supplies secretly, but this takes a longer time and limits the volume of shipments, explaining that Homs In central Syria, it was an important transit point for Iranian goods subject to US restrictions.
According to a US official, Iranian-affiliated groups have funneled enough goods through Syria to make Iran one of the world’s largest arms producers. Chemicals and mechanical parts were also sent through Syria, and the major buyers were Belarus, Russia, and the Assad regime itself. Iran now has at least one new client, and a way to get there.”
Hezbollah’s financial damages
The newspaper referred to the crisis that Hezbollah suffered, as the “Al-Qard Al-Hassan” institution, the financial institution located at the heart of the party’s banking network, was bombed during an Israeli air strike last October.
According to the newspaper, the other problem facing the Iranian economy is the billions that Tehran lost, represented in the loans provided to Bashar al-Assad that were intended to support him. Officials estimate that the amounts of personal loans to Assad and credit facilities for oil amount to about 5 billion dollars annually. (24)
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