Iran denies collapse is close as US claims IRGC is running out of money
Iran has rejected claims that it is unable to sustain support for its regional allies, even as it acknowledges that sanctions and war have created financial pressure. The dispute centres on competing claims from Tehran and Washington over the impact of military pressure, a naval blockade and restrictions on Iranian exports. The latest exchange comes amid a wider confrontation over Iran's regional network and the funding of groups aligned with it.
More from 360LiveNews Opinion
US Central Command chief Brad Cooper said last week that a combination of military attacks and a naval blockade of Iran's southern ports had dealt severe blows to the country. He said the US had prevented at least $25bn in Iranian crude exports and helped freeze about $350m in cryptocurrency assets. Cooper argued that the pressure was leaving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unable to pay its soldiers, while Iran-linked regional groups were also facing shortfalls.
Cooper also said there were reports of Iran-aligned militia groups across the region withholding payments to their own fighters in order to redirect money back to the IRGC. That claim, if accurate, would suggest strain is being felt not only inside Iran but also across the network of armed groups that has long depended on Iranian support. The article says the US is portraying the situation as a victory in its confrontation with Iran, although it also notes Washington has had few tangible victories so far.
The financial pressure matters because the IRGC's external arm, the Quds Force, has for decades supplied money, weapons, components, training and manufacturing expertise to allied groups in the region. According to United Nations experts and US officials cited in the report, that support has helped partners opposed to the US and Israel build or produce weapons locally. The same network also relies on businesses, oil exports, donations and local resources, making it vulnerable when funding channels are disrupted.
More from 360LiveNews Opinion
The report says Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen have already suffered financially in recent years. Michael Knights, head of Middle East and North Africa research at the US-based intelligence and geopolitical risk advisory firm Horizon Engage, said the national economies supporting those movements are badly damaged. He said they continue to receive stipends and in-kind support, including fuel products, from Iran, which underlines how financial pressure on Tehran can affect multiple fronts at once.
What remains unclear is how much of the claimed disruption can be independently verified and how far the reported funding strain has spread through Iran's allied groups. Tehran says it wants to lift the US blockade and pressure on its own terms, but it has not indicated any change in its broader regional posture. The next developments to watch are whether the reported export losses and frozen assets translate into visible changes in payments, operations or support to Iran-aligned groups.
