Iran smuggles $1 billion to Hezbollah despite heavy international sanctions

The Iranian regime managed to smuggle at least $1 billion to its terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, in Lebanon despite heavy sanctions this year, according to senior US Treasury Department officials.

John Hurley, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, says Iran remains committed to its proxy groups throughout the Middle East. Nonetheless, he believes there is an opportunity to cut off funding flows while Iran is in its current weakened state.

“There is a moment in Lebanon now. If we can disarm Hezbollah, the Lebanese people could get their country back,” Hurley said.

“Even with everything Iran has been through, even though the economy is not in great shape, they continue to pump a lot of money into their terrorist proxies,” he continued.

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The regime of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei managed to smuggle $1 billion to Hezbollah this year, the United States says. (Getty Images)

“The key to achieving this is eliminating Iranian influence and control; that starts with all the money they are pumping into Hezbollah,” he argued.

Hurley pressed for an increased pressure campaign while touring Turkey, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Israel this weekend.

Western countries have already imposed heavy sanctions on Tehran over its refusal to negotiate a nuclear deal. The regime insists that 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 Hezbollah off from Iran. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump ordered bombings of key Iranian nuclear sites earlier this year as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, which U.S. officials say was successful in crippling Tehran’s progress toward a bomb.

Iran nevertheless continues its efforts to sow chaos across the world. U.S. officials say they, alongside Israel and Mexico, foiled an Iranian-backed assassination attempt on Israel’s ambassador to Mexico earlier this year.

“We thank Mexico’s security and law enforcement agencies for thwarting an Iranian-led terrorist network that sought to attack the Israeli ambassador to Mexico,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on 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 around the world.”

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A U.S. official told Reuters the plot targeting Ambassador Einat Kranz Neiger “was contained and did not pose a current threat.”

Fox News’ Greg Norman and Reuters contributed to this report.