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The Iranian regime has managed to smuggle at least $1 billion to its terrorist proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon despite heavy sanctions this year, top officials at the U.S. Treasury Department say.
John Hurley, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, says Iran remains committed to its proxy groups throughout the Middle East. Nevertheless, he says there is an opportunity to cut off the funding streams while Iran is in its current weakened state.
“There’s a moment in Lebanon now. If we could get Hezbollah to disarm, the Lebanese people could get their country back,” Hurley said.
“Even with everything Iran has been through, even with the economy not in great shape, they’re still pumping a lot of money to their terrorist proxies,” he continued.
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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime has managed to smuggle $1 billion to Hezbollah this year, the U.S. says. (Getty Images)
“The key to that is to drive out the Iranian influence and control; that starts with all the money that they are pumping into Hezbollah,” he argued.
Hurley pushed for the increased pressure campaign during a tour of Turkey, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Israel this weekend.
Western nations have already laid down heavy sanctions on Tehran over its unwillingness to negotiate a nuclear deal. The regime insists its nuclear development program exists solely for civilian purposes.
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John Hurley, undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes at the Treasury Department, says there is an opportunity to cut off Hezbollah from Iran. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump ordered bombings on Iran’s key nuclear sites earlier this year in Operation Midnight Hammer, which U.S. officials say succeeded in crippling Tehran’s progress toward a bomb.
Iran has nevertheless continued its efforts to spread chaos across the globe. U.S. officials say they, along with Israel and Mexico, thwarted an Iran-backed attempt to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico earlier this year.
“We thank the security and law enforcement services in Mexico for thwarting a terrorist network directed by Iran that sought to attack Israel’s ambassador in Mexico,” Israel’s foreign ministry told Fox News on Friday.
Einat Kranz Neiger, the Israeli ambassador to Mexico. (Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“The Israeli security and intelligence community will continue to work tirelessly, in full cooperation with security and intelligence agencies around the world, to thwart terrorist threats from Iran and its proxies against Israeli and Jewish targets worldwide.”
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A U.S. official told Reuters the plot targeting ambassador Einat Kranz Neiger “was contained and does not pose a current threat.”
Fox News’ Greg Norman and Reuters contributed to this report.
