Iran currently has an estimated $11.4 billion in frozen assets.
By Hezy Laing
Tehran recently announced that $5 billion of any Iranian frozen assets released under the proposed regional truce would be allocated to Hezbollah to “continue the resistance,” according to statements published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) and the Tasnim News Agency, both of which quoted senior Iranian officials.
The declaration was delivered by Mohammad Reza Farzin, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, during a televised economic forum in Tehran attended by Vice President Mohammad Mokhber and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir‑Abdollahian, who emphasized that Hezbollah remained a central pillar of Iran’s regional security doctrine.
Iran currently has an estimated $11.4 billion in frozen assets held in South Korea, Japan, Iraq, Luxembourg, and several European banks, according to 2025 assessments by the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Treasury Department.
The proposed truce currently being negotiated with the United States includes phased sanctions relief in exchange for Iranian commitments to hand over enriched uranium.
Farzin’s announcement that a substantial portion of any released funds would be directed to Hezbollah immediately drew international criticism, as Hezbollah is designated a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, the Arab League, and multiple Latin American governments, and is responsible for extensive regional violence and human rights abuses.
By 2026, Hezbollah is led by Hashem Safieddine, long considered the successor to Hassan Nasrallah and previously head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, one of the organization’s most powerful governing bodies.
Safieddine, sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department since 2017 for his role in financing and operational oversight, publicly praised Iran’s pledge in a January 2026 speech broadcast on Al‑Manar TV, claiming the funds would strengthen what he called the “Axis of Resistance,” which includes Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Iran‑backed militias in Iraq and Syria.
Israeli intelligence assessments released by the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman) in December 2025 estimated that Iran had provided Hezbollah with $850 million annually, alongside weapons shipments including precision‑guided munitions, UAV systems, and anti‑tank platforms.
Iran’s proposed transfer of $5 billion in released assets to Hezbollah in 2026 could significantly reinvigorate the organization by stabilizing its finances after years of economic strain in Lebanon, restoring salaries for its estimated 20,000–30,000 fighters, and expanding procurement of Iranian‑supplied weapons systems.
Such funding could accelerate Hezbollah’s precision‑guided munitions program, increase UAV production, and strengthen its social‑service networks, which Tehran uses to maintain influence in Lebanon.
The infusion would also allow Hezbollah to rebuild damaged infrastructure and intensify its regional proxy activity, including increased attacks on northern Israeli communities and IDF soldiers.
The U.S. State Department, through spokesperson Laura Schneider, condemned Tehran’s announcement and warned that any diversion of humanitarian‑designated funds to Hezbollah would violate international sanctions and undermine regional stability.
Lebanese political leaders such as Samir Geagea of the Lebanese Forces and Nadim Gemayel of the Kataeb Party argued that increased Iranian financing would further destabilize Lebanon’s economy, which contracted by 38 percent between 2019 and 2025 according to the World Bank.
