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Hezbollah continues to pay salaries to its leaders, but the long-term sustainability of this practice is increasingly uncertain. The challenges in receiving Iranian funds have grown, compounded by the closure of hard drug production facilities in Syria. The land route to transfer these funds through Syria has been entirely shut down, and the air route is becoming more difficult due to the ban on Iranian flights. Additionally, some Lebanese banks have reportedly started refusing to process transfers from Hezbollah sympathizers living abroad, fearing violations of US sanctions on the party's financial activities, as well as the potential consequences faced by Jammal Trust Bank, according to media reports.
Sources within Hezbollah indicate that, even if direct supply lines from Iran are severed, alternative methods could be explored to channel funds from Tehran, particularly through third-party countries via air. However, this option is fraught with challenges. The priority remains securing funds for the treatment of the wounded and providing compensation to the families of “martyrs” and those who have lost their homes.
Hezbollah’s Economic Lifeline Paralyzed in Syria
An AFP report titled “En Syrie, l'ex-artère économique du Hezbollah passe sous contrôle des autorités” (In Syria, Hezbollah's former economic artery comes under government control), reported on Wednesday that in the Qusayr region of Homs province, in eastern Syria, the new Syrian authorities launched a campaign last week to crack down on smuggling along the porous Syrian-Lebanese border. They accuse Hezbollah, an ally of former President Bashar al-Assad—who was ousted on December 8 after ruling Syria with an iron fist for 24 years—of backing networks involved in drug and arms trafficking.
Commander Nadim Madkhaneh, responsible for border security, told AFP from the village of Hawik, just a few hundred meters from the Lebanese border, “We’re starting to search the factories used by Hezbollah and the former regime.” This region, bordering the Beqaa Valley—Hezbollah’s stronghold in eastern Lebanon—is lined with numerous smuggling routes that have been in use for decades, as Syria refused to demarcate its 330-kilometer border with Lebanon during the Assad years.
In April 2013, during the Syrian civil war ignited by the violent crackdown on anti-government protests, Hezbollah declared its military support for Bashar al-Assad, particularly in Qusayr, which was then a rebel stronghold. A few weeks later, after fierce fighting that displaced thousands of Syrians, Hezbollah and Assad’s forces seized control of the region, and Hezbollah gradually set up headquarters, centers, tunnels and weapons storage there.
Dismantling
“Under the former regime, this area was the economic lifeline for Hezbollah and traffickers of drugs and weapons,” Madkhaneh explained. In the building that was raided, AFP journalists saw bags containing Captagon pills and equipment which, according to Madkhaneh, were used to manufacture this amphetamine, produced on an industrial scale under Bashar al-Assad. Abandoned plates in the kitchen suggested the occupants had fled in a hurry.
Madkhaneh also mentioned that Syrian forces recently clashed with armed men “loyal to Hezbollah and the former regime.” Burned-out vehicles and damaged buildings along the Hawik roads bear testimony to the intensity of the fighting. In addition to dismantling drug factories, Madkhaneh claims his forces are also targeting the activities of arms and goods traffickers. Syrian security forces are coordinating their efforts with the Lebanese army, which announced last week that it had reinforced its deployment along the northeastern border.
In December, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem acknowledged that the fall of Assad had deprived his movement of its military supply route through Syria.
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