After war losses, Hezbollah seen gaining from Iran-US deal

BEIRUT/DUBAI: Iran’s interim deal with the US looks set to bolster Hezbollah’s political and financial hand in Lebanon, with Tehran promising more funding for its ally once cash starts to flow, according to four sources familiar with ties between Tehran and the group. A cash infusion to Hezbollah could help it recover from heavy wartime losses and deliver a setback to Israel, which dealt the Iran-backed group crushing blows in a 2024 war and has campaigned against sanctions relief for Tehran. The US-Iranian memorandum of understanding (MoU), due to be signed on Friday, is expected to halt hostilities across all fronts, mediator Pakistan has said, although its terms have not been made public. The halt to fighting — at Iran’s insistence — includes Lebanon, where Hezbollah fired at Israel in solidarity with Tehran on March 2, igniting an Israeli offensive that has killed thousands and led Israel to invade the south, in a conflict that has unfolded in parallel to the wider US-Iran confrontation. The situation in south Lebanon remains volatile. Iran warned Israel on Tuesday to expect an Iranian military response if it didn’t stop attacks in the south, where Israel has said it will keep troops and violence, albeit much reduced, has continued. The ceasefire in Lebanon leaves Hezbollah politically emboldened after two years of setbacks, including the fall of Hezbollah’s Syrian ally Bashar Assad in December, 2024. It ‌also corners Lebanon’s ‌US-backed government, which failed in its own efforts to secure a broader ceasefire in face-to-face talks with Israeli officials in Washington ‌over the past ⁠two months as ⁠a pathway to curbing Hezbollah’s military role. Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim group designated a terrorist organization by Washington, has been armed and financed by Tehran since it was founded by the Revolutionary Guards in 1982.