CENTCOM chief says Iran-aligned groups sending money back to cash-strapped IRGC
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The commander of US Central Command said that Iran-backed armed groups across the Middle East are diverting funds to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) amid severe financial pressure on Tehran after nine months of war.
In a video message, Adm. Brad Cooper cited reports that the long-standing financial relationship between the IRGC and its regional proxies has reversed.
Groups—long funded by Tehran—are now funneling money back to the IRGC.
“The financial strain on Iran’s military has become so significant that there are reports about Iran-aligned militia groups across the region withholding payments for their soldiers in order to funnel money back to the IRGC, which also isn’t paying its troops,” Cooper said.
Cooper linked the cash crunch directly to US pressure, including a naval blockade that he said has cost Iran about $25 billion in lost oil revenue.
“So far, we’ve prevented Iran from exporting at least $25 billion worth of crude oil,” he stated, noting that the revenue would otherwise have financed proxy militias, criminal networks, and attacks against Americans.
In recent weeks, CENTCOM and the Treasury Department have also frozen roughly $350 million in Iranian cryptocurrency assets.
The strain extends deep into Iran itself.
Cooper said the Iranian government is withholding salaries, pensions, and benefits from public-sector workers, including members of the internal security forces and the IRGC.
The same financial pressure, he indicated, is affecting the regime’s ability to sustain its broader military and proxy network.
Cooper attributed a sharp rise in Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to growing “desperation” within the IRGC.
He noted that US and allied forces continue to keep the strategic waterway open, having escorted hundreds of merchant vessels in recent days despite the threats.
The comments come as the Trump administration maintains a combination of naval interdiction and sanctions aimed at forcing Iran toward a deal that includes nuclear concessions.
