Iran has sent the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon hundreds of millions of dollars over the past year via money laundering operations in Dubai, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The money, earned through oil sales, moves through Iran-linked exchange shops and private companies, as well as to businessmen and couriers.
It’s then transferred to Lebanon through the Hawala system, in which individuals rather than banks act as brokers for money transfers. The system is widely used in Muslim countries.
A United Arab Emirates official says the country is working to stop such activity on its territory and is working with international partners to do so.
Prior to the recent Israel-Hezbollah war, Iran was known to send large quantities of cash to Lebanon through the Beirut airport, but this was largely stopped as a condition of the November 2024 ceasefire deal, which went into effect a year ago today.
Now, Iran is sending more travelers to the airport, with smaller quantities of cash or with small valuables that can easily be hidden, Arab officials tell the Journal. They also note that Hezbollah has streams of income around the world, including trade in drugs and diamonds.
The newspaper cites a senior US official who says Washington is also concerned about money going to Hezbollah by way of Turkey and Iraq.
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