Wednesday, October 14Global edition

Iran sends Hezbollah $200 million to help Lebanese displaced by war with Israel

The transfer will fund initial payments of $3,000 per family, with around 50,000 families prioritised whose villages have been destroyed or are under Israeli occupation. Intermediaries charged a 20% fee — four times the normal rate — as US pressure makes moving money harder.
Hezbollah supporters at a rally in Beirut's southern suburbs
عامر شاہین (cc-by-sa-3.0) via Wikimedia Commons
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At a ceremony in Beirut's southern suburbs on 27 September 2026, Hezbollah marked the second anniversary of the killing of its former leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli strike on September 27, 2024.

Iran sent Hezbollah $200 million last month to help Lebanese civilians displaced by this year's war with Israel, according to two people with direct knowledge of the transfer. The money is described as the first significant aid Hezbollah has directed to supporters who bore the brunt of the conflict.

Hezbollah plans to make an initial $3,000 payment to each family, with priority for people whose villages have been destroyed or made inaccessible by Israeli occupation. Around 50,000 families fall into that priority group, according to sources.

The group entered the regional war in support of Iran on March 2. Israel's subsequent bombardment and invasion of Lebanon uprooted hundreds of thousands of Hezbollah's Shi'ite Muslim constituents. Lebanon's Health Ministry says more than 4,300 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon since March 2.

Hezbollah, founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982, has suffered heavy Israeli blows in two wars since 2024. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said last month that reconstruction after those wars could cost more than $27 billion.

There is a precedent for Hezbollah using cash aid after conflict. Following its 2006 war with Israel, the group immediately made large cash payments to those affected and moved quickly to help rebuild Beirut's southern suburbs.

Iran had promised Hezbollah more funding after Tehran signed an interim deal with Washington in June that allowed Iran to sell its oil. The US Treasury Department said Iran transferred $1 billion to Hezbollah in the first 10 months of 2025.

This latest transfer was made despite increased US economic pressure on Iran and growing difficulty in moving money to Hezbollah. The intermediaries who moved the funds charged a 20% fee, four times the normal fee.

One source said financial companies that had previously handled transfers were becoming harder for Hezbollah to use. Companies in Iraq and Dubai were no longer an option, the source said, while similar channels in Turkey faced pressure. The source said Hezbollah had nevertheless continued paying its fighters and the families of members killed in combat.

A Hezbollah official said an amount had been secured and that the group would announce a distribution plan in the coming days. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said last month that the organisation would soon contribute to housing for thousands of people displaced by the war, using what he called 'available resources and donations'.

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Sofia CastellanosWorld

Sofia Castellanos reads today’s events through the long arc of history, drawing the parallels others miss. Ambitious in scope, provocative on purpose, and rarely content with the obvious explanation.

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