Hussein Dakroub -The Daily Star
Hezbollah, facing mounting pressure at home and abroad over its involvement in the Syrian war and other regional conflicts, is struggling to cope with the latest U.S. sanctions. Further complicating Hezbollah’s finances is dwindling aid from its main backer, Iran, which faced a new wave of U.S. sanctions on its oil sales and banking sector in early November in a move by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to choke off Tehran economically and force it to cut aid to militant groups such as Hezbollah.
Weeks before the United States imposed what Trump called “hard-hitting sanctions on Hezbollah to further starve them of their funds,” the group’s Al-Manar TV station had been frequently broadcasting commercial advertisements asking for donations.
Viewers were asked to donate to the Islamic Resistance Support Association Hezbollah’s fundraising arm or to a foundation that takes care of the families of “martyrs,” a reference to Hezbollah fighters killed either during the seven-year conflict in Syria or the group’s 18-year guerrilla war against Israeli occupation forces in southern Lebanon.
Huge IRSA billboards were also displayed on Beirut’s Airport Road depicting a Hezbollah fighter in uniform carrying the group’s yellow banner and Lebanon’s national flag, along with phone numbers for making donations.
“A project to equip a holy warrior. He who equips a warrior is part of the battle,” was written on the billboards a quote from the Prophet Mohammad. “We thank you for your contribution.”
Hezbollah’s fundraising campaign can also be seen in its metal donation boxes that are placed at some supermarkets, restaurants, mosques, schools and shops mainly in areas where Hezbollah enjoys wide support.
Media reports estimated the number of donation boxes around Lebanon belonging to IRSA and the Emdad Committee for Islamic Charity, another Hezbollah charity fund, at 250,000.
Hezbollah uses the IRSA to collect donations supporting its military activities.
In tandem with its fundraising efforts, Hezbollah has sought to implement austerity measures, cutting certain social programs it provides to large segments of the Shiite community while preserving payments to families of the party’s dead and wounded fighters, a source close to the party said.
“Hezbollah’s increased calls for donations seemingly reflect the party’s concern over the latest tough U.S. sanctions imposed on it, as well as on its key backer, Iran,” the source told The Daily Star.
“But the party, armed with a solid popular base, in addition to its missile arsenal, will manage to ride out the sanctions storm.”
Despite the sanctions, top Hezbollah officials, including party leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, do not seem perturbed.
“The U.S. sanctions against Iran will have no effect on Hezbollah,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech on Nov. 10.
In another speech on Oct. 19, Nasrallah emphasized that Hezbollah is in a better position today than before, sanctions notwithstanding.
“We will proceed with more development despite the sanctions and bets that we will be facing difficult conditions.
“Since we were created [in 1982], we have been living in difficult and severe conditions. But today, we are in a better situation than at any time before. We will remain so despite all the difficulties surrounding us,” Nasrallah said.
A senior Hezbollah official echoed Nasrallah, telling The Daily Star: “Hezbollah’s political, military and financial situation has never been better, despite the imposition of the latest batch of U.S. sanctions on the party and Iran.
“The sanctions will not have any impact on the party’s battlefield and jihadi process.”
Washington, which labels Hezbollah as a “terrorist organization,” has imposed sanctions on Hezbollah for decades.
But the latest sanctions appear to be more serious about targeting Hezbollah’s top leadership, as well as companies and businessmen that allegedly fund the group.
The tougher sanctions on Hezbollah and its allies seek to deplete the party’s financial resources.
The new sanctions target all media, financial, social and educational organizations that are directly linked to Hezbollah. The party’s Foreign Relations Department and its Al-Manar TV station are among those directly targeted.
Since taking office, Trump, who follows a pro-Israel policy in the Middle East, has vowed to punish Iran and Hezbollah, two of the Jewish state’s arch-foes.
“We will target, disrupt and dismantle [Hezbollah’s] operational and financing networks, of which they had plenty. They don’t have plenty now,” Trump said on Oct. 26, moments after signing the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2018.
A statement from the White House said the new law “expands sanctions on foreign entities that support Hezbollah or its agents.”
The new legislation will certainly aggravate Hezbollah’s ability to channel its funds and gives Washington more tools to sanction the group.
Iran, facing its own financial and economic crises as a result of the new sanctions, has reportedly cut back on funding for Hezbollah and Shiite militias it supports in Iraq.
The U.S. State Department said in July that Iran has spent over $16 billion since 2012 supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad and its allies in Iraq and in Yemen, and that it additionally gives $700 million annually to Hezbollah.
The Trump administration resumed sanctions on Iran in August after withdrawing from the 2015 international nuclear deal in May.
On Nov. 5, it reimposed sanctions on Iran’s banking sector, shipping lines and energy and petroleum products.
In May, the U.S. and some of its Arab allies including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain imposed sanctions on 10 top Hezbollah officials, including Nasrallah, his deputy Sheikh Naim Qassem and his key political aide Hussein Khalil.
Hezbollah generally dismisses sanctions imposed on its officials as ineffective psychological propaganda against the group.
Ramping up the pressure on the party, the State Department earlier this month declared Jawad Nasrallah, the son of the Hezbollah leader, a “global terrorist.”
Even without the sanctions, Hezbollah’s financial situation has been aggravated by its involvement since 2013 in Syria. Media reports say Hezbollah has lost about 2,000 of its fighters, with thousands more wounded. This has incurred additional expenses in the form of payments to families of “martyrs” and health care costs for its fighters.
Hezbollah has reportedly taken measures to reduce its expenses, such as curtailing the number of its fighters in Syria especially now that Assad’s forces have taken back large swaths of territory from armed rebel groups.
In some of his recent speeches, Nasrallah has acknowledged the financial strains caused by the sanctions. “I won’t say the sanctions will not have an effect. … They will have an effect for sure,” Nasrallah said in a speech on Aug. 14.
But he insisted they wouldn’t diminish the party’s power.
The Hezbollah leader said he expected financial pressure on the party to continue through Trump’s presidency.
He also admitted that the sanctions might make Hezbollah’s donors nervous.
“The sanctions will not impact our main source of financing, but there are donors who might be scared or take precautions. There are some contributions we receive that could stop: This could impact us,” he said in another speech.
“The new U.S. sanctions also target people who donate money to Hezbollah,” said MP Yassine Jaber, a member of Speaker Nabih Berri’s parliamentary bloc.
Most of these contributions come from Lebanese Shiite businessmen based in Africa, and some groups in Lebanon.
Lebanese banks, complying with the U.S. sanctions against Hezbollah, are already examining all transfers of funds from abroad, paying particular attention to those from Africa.
Lebanese banks, with the guidance of the Central Bank, have fully complied with all resolutions from the U.S. Treasury Department, suspending the accounts of any suspected Hezbollah officials listed by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Washington has vowed to continue these measures until Hezbollah’s finances run dry.
“These are the next wave of sanctions. What we are making very, very clear to Hezbollah is that they do not and will not operate unimpeded in any foreign location, including Iraq.
“This administration under U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed more financial sanctions on Hezbollah in one year than any other U.S. administration in history,” Marshall Billingslea, assistant secretary for terrorist financing in the Treasury Department, told The Daily Star in a recent phone interview.
“We will continue to pressure Hezbollah wherever they operate, and we have noticed activities around the world such as [in] South America, where we worked together in close cooperation with Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil to disrupt operations funded by Hezbollah,” he said.
Washington has also accused Hezbollah of money laundering, narcotics operations and all sorts of illicit activities to fund the group’s operations. Nasrallah has repeatedly denied these allegations, saying they sought to distort Hezbollah’s image in the world.
Billingslea admitted that Iran remains the party’s main source of funding but said he strongly believes this funding will fall dramatically as a result of the sanctions on Iran.
In Lebanon, as part of the prolonged and stalled government formation process now in its seventh month Hezbollah has insisted on receiving the Health Ministry, with some political analysts tying this to the party’s financial crisis.
Some Western states have reportedly warned Lebanese officials against granting this portfolio to Hezbollah, which is blacklisted by some European and Gulf countries in addition to the U.S.
Ghassan Hajjar, managing editor of An-Nahar newspaper, wrote in his column Hezbollah was aware of other parties offering public services to their supporters through ministries and public institutions.
“Hezbollah had felt during the period before the [May] parliamentary elections a case of restlessness among its supporters, compared to services others are getting,” Hajjar said. “This explains [Hezbollah’s] concern with the Health Ministry, which might constitute a funding source for its institutions by gearing public funds toward hospitals, patients and organizations affiliated with it in order to reduce its financial burdens.”
