Iran promises to help Hezbollah once assets are unfrozen, sanctions are lifted

Iran’s initial peace deal with the US sets the stage for Tehran to bolster Hezbollah’s financial and political grip in Lebanon once cash begins to flow from unfrozen funds and oil deals, according to a new report.Under the Memorandum of Understanding, Iran stands to gain hundreds of billions from post-war investment, sanction relief and unfrozen funds.And Iran is promising to use the reconstruction funds to prop up its battered terror proxy in Lebanon, sources familiar with the dealing told Reuters.Tehran reportedly promised the inflow of cash to Hezbollah as soon as possible, paving the way for the group to rebuild its military wing and political arm in war-torn Lebanon, two regional diplomats and two senior Lebanese sources said.Hezbollah’s communications office confirmed Iran’s public support for the terror group, which it has propped up for decades — including a transfer of $1 billion last year, according to the US Treasury Department.The media office insisted that Iran would continue to support Hezbollah “regardless of the details of the retrieval of its funds.”The US has maintained that Iran cannot use its unfrozen funds to finance “any terror organization,” warning that the money will be locked out if the agreement is broken.

One of President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goals of the war was to eliminate Iran’s regional terror infrastructure in the Middle East.The situation in Lebanon has repeatedly caused friction in the peace negotiations and briefly caused the talks to collapse and fighting to restart in the region last month.The MOU also calls for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, providing further relief for the terror group that has had its leadership and ground forces devastated by nearly three years of fighting.

The war has come at a tremendous cost for Hezbollah, with nearly 4,000 people killed in southern Lebanon since March, according to the country’s health ministry.The death t...