Baladi News
Iran has cut funding to militia groups in Syria as its economy continues to suffer from the renewed imposition of US sanctions, after the Trump Administration withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal.
Armed groups backed by Tehran have reported to be missing paycheques and even financial aid to Iran’s closest Arab ally, the Lebanese Hezbollah group, has dried up in recent months.
“The golden days are gone and will never return,” a fighter with an Iranian-backed militia in Syria who recently lost a third of his salary and other benefits told the New York Times. “Iran doesn’t have enough money to give us.”
“You’re not in Hezbollah for the money,” another anonymous fighter said. “You’re giving your blood, your soul, because you believe, but if your family is in the street, how can you fight?”
In January, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran is facing its toughest economic situation in 40 years, and that the United States was squarely to blame. The country has witnessed its currency plummet, prices soar and growth forecasts fall since the US renewed economic sanctions against Tehran last year.
Washington withdrew from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal signed under then President Barak Obama last May, despite protests from the cosignatories Russia, China, Germany, France and the UK. But earlier this week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hailed the pressure on Iran, affirming during a trip to Lebanon that “it’s aimed at cutting off the funding for terrorists, and it’s working.”
Source: Middle East Monitor.