Hezbollah has received $200 million from Iran to assist Lebanese families displaced by the ongoing war with Israel, two people with direct knowledge of the transfer said.
The funds arrived last month despite intensified US economic pressure on Tehran and growing obstacles to moving money to the Iran-backed group in Lebanon, the sources told Reuters.
Intermediaries who facilitated the transfer charged a 20 percent fee — four times the usual rate, according to one source — reflecting the heightened risks involved.
A Hezbollah official confirmed that money had been secured but did not identify its origin. The official said the group would announce a distribution plan in the coming days.
Hezbollah intends to provide an initial payment of $3,000 to each affected family, prioritising those whose villages have been destroyed or remain inaccessible due to Israeli occupation, the sources said. One source estimated that around 50,000 families would qualify.
The payments would mark the group’s first significant assistance to supporters displaced by the conflict, which began after Hezbollah entered the regional war in support of Iran on March 2. Israel’s bombardment and ground operations have uprooted hundreds of thousands of people, primarily from Lebanon’s Shi’ite community, Hezbollah’s main support base.
The United States disputed the claim. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the money “is not there” and accused Hezbollah of trying to “save face with fake stories about cash influxes from Iran.”
“The United States will continue to strangle Hezbollah’s finances through sanctions while supporting the ability of Lebanon’s legitimate government to rebuild the South,” Pigott said.
A US Treasury spokesperson added that Iran was running short of money and means to transfer it, limiting its ability to fund regional activities.
Iran has long provided financial support to Hezbollah, which was founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982 and is designated a terrorist organisation by the United States. Tehran has never publicly acknowledged financing the group.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said last month that reconstructing areas damaged in the two wars since 2024 could cost more than $27 billion. Lebanon’s health ministry reports that Israeli attacks have killed more than 4,300 people since March 2.
The Iranian foreign ministry, Iran’s permanent mission in Geneva and the Lebanese government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
