How Iran transfers money to Hezbollah (and the mysterious Shiite "association" involved)

The United States recently announced a $10 million reward for information on the cash smuggling route from Iran to Hezbollah—and the emerging details paint a complex picture of a sophisticated smuggling network. At the center of the latest case is a Lebanese courier arrested on February 28 at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, carrying a suitcase containing $2.5 million in cash.

It turns out this is just the tip of the iceberg of a complex system for smuggling funds, with Hezbollah’s Unit 4400—responsible for the group’s military buildup—at its core, according to an investigation by intelligence analyst Ronen Salomon, editor of Intelli Times, published today (Wednesday) on N12.

"The money transfer relies on connecting flights through Istanbul and other third countries to obscure the Iranian origin," Salomon explained. "The exchange takes place in the duty-free zones of airports, bypassing customs counters."

The courier departed Beirut for Istanbul International Airport on the evening of February 27. The next morning, he arrived at another Istanbul airport, Sabiha Gökçen, with a ticket for a Pegasus Airlines flight back to Beirut to access the duty-free area. There, he met an Iranian operative who had landed from Tehran an hour earlier and handed him the suitcase with the money. The two then boarded the Pegasus flight to Beirut, where the courier was caught by a new security system installed at the airport, designed to track drug smugglers.

But that's just one example. In other cases, couriers arrive directly in Beirut on Mahan Air flights—used by the Quds Force—or even Iran Air planes, where they have immunity from customs checks because they travel with Iranian diplomatic passports, as long as they carry a suitcase or diplomatic mail (sealed bags), per international law.

The "Rafic Hariri Route" begins at the airport and follows Airport Road, also known as Imam Khomeini Road. It passes several facilities: Nasrallah’s bunker, the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, and Al-Sahel Hospital, beneath which, according to IDF spokesperson revelations, Hezbollah built its financial bunker, an underground central bank holding the bulk of its wealth: billions of dollars and gold bars.

The cash is transferred to an underground complex beneath Beirut’s Al-Sahel Hospital, home to Hezbollah’s financial unit. The IDF has so far refrained from striking the site due to its location under the hospital, despite the IDF spokesperson revealing in October a bunker belonging to Hezbollah’s assassinated leader, Hassan Nasrallah, containing over half a billion dollars. The headquarters of the organization’s "Qard al-Hassan" network, which serves as Hezbollah’s banking system, is also located in this complex.

After his arrest, the suspected courier, Mohammed Arif Hussein, claimed the suitcase was intended for a "Shiite association," not Hezbollah. Days later, Lebanon’s Supreme Islamic Shiite Council officially announced that the money was indeed meant for it.

According to Intelli Times, an investigation into the council’s location reveals a troubling picture: its offices are situated precisely at the center of Hezbollah’s "Golden Triangle"—450 meters north of the financial bunker the IDF exposed but did not strike due to its sensitive location, and 450 meters from the operational bunker where Hassan Nasrallah stayed before his elimination. This strategic positioning reinforces suspicions that the council serves as a legitimate front for the organization’s financial activities.

The man leading the authority and serving as the council’s vice president, Sheikh Ali al-Khatib, underwent religious training together with none other than Nsarllah himself, in Najaf, Iraq, in the 1970s. In an interview with Al-Manar, he spoke of his decades-long connection with Nasrallah and was recently documented alongside the commander of Hezbollah’s foreign relations unit, Sheikh Adnan Daghmoush (also known as Adnan Qasir).

After the election of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and before his death in a helicopter crash, Sheikh al-Khatib was among the dignitaries invited to the president’s office and later met with Iran’s foreign minister. These meetings directly tie him to Iran’s support apparatus, whether for the council itself or through it to Hezbollah.

The sheikh is also part of the Amal movement, which fought against Israel. During the war, he was seen comforting wounded fighters from both Amal and Hezbollah.

Despite the blow it suffered in combat, it's obvious that Hezbollah has not laid down its weapons and is desperate to stay involved in Lebanon’s reconstruction process. But with growing pressure on Mahan Air and restrictions on direct flights from Iran, Turkey may have become a critical hub in the cash route, with a network of couriers and operatives exploiting Istanbul’s airport as a relatively safe transfer point.

Channel 12 contributed to this article.