Iran funnels nearly $1B to Hezbollah as domestic crisis deepens, analyst says

i24news-Nov27th2025

As Iran faces one of the most severe domestic crises in its recent history, the regime has nonetheless funneled nearly a billion dollars in just four months to Hezbollah, according to Beni Sabti, an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University.

Sabti says the money is moved through covert smuggling routes spanning northern Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, far from addressing the urgent needs of ordinary Iranians.

The disparity is stark. Tehran is grappling with extreme water shortages, rolling power outages, and suffocating pollution, yet the state continues to prioritize funding its regional proxies. Sabti describes Iran’s leadership as being in “total denial,” convinced it emerged from the latest conflict without serious political fallout and confident it can continue its prewar strategy.

This mindset, he argues, has led to the neglect of critical public services. Billions directed to armed groups are not being invested in water systems or electrical infrastructure, leaving the Iranian public to cope alone, without a coherent opposition capable of presenting an alternative.

On the nuclear issue, Sabti offers a more cautious assessment. The killing of several scientists tied to Iran’s weaponization efforts has, he says, slowed progress.

Tehran is believed to understand the boundaries it cannot cross, particularly those that Washington considers red lines. “We have a little more time,” Sabti notes, suggesting a temporary pause in escalation.

Instead, Iran’s immediate focus appears to be rebuilding its ballistic arsenal and reactivating its network of terrorist operatives abroad. But Sabti highlights a key limitation: “They don’t have launchers.” Claims about the scale of Iran’s missile stockpile should therefore be treated carefully given the shortage of viable launch systems.

The threat to Jewish and Israeli targets overseas remains serious. Sabti says Iran has been collecting intelligence on synagogues for decades and recruiting local criminals to carry out attacks—tactics believed to have surfaced in Denmark and the United Kingdom. Israel, for its part, says it has foiled plots linked to Iran in Turkey, Cyprus, and even Mexico.

Sabti’s conclusion is blunt: for Iran’s ruling establishment, terrorism is not merely a tool but the core of its political identity. Abandoning it, he argues, would mean abandoning the regime itself.

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