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Iranian Funds for Hizbullah Are Flowing through Dubai
(Wall Street Journal) Dov Lieber - Iran has sent the Lebanese militia Hizbullah hundreds of millions of dollars over the past year via money exchanges and other businesses in Dubai. Tehran has long used the UAE to launder funds and evade sanctions. A UAE official said the country is committed to preventing misuse of its territory for illicit finance and was working with international partners to disrupt and deter it. The U.S. is also concerned about funds being smuggled to Hizbullah through Turkey and Iraq. "Hizbullah is highly focused now on rebuilding," said David Schenker, director of the program for Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "Iran is not backing away from its commitment to its premier regional proxy." Iran's Quds Force has transferred more than $1 billion to Hizbullah since January, the U.S. Treasury Department said in November. Yet the group is still struggling to meet its financial needs. "One billion used to be their entire annual budget, but after the war they need a lot more," said Hanin Ghaddar, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute.