Hezbollah readies for new regional war with funds from Iran: Reuters

• Hezbollah has spent three months rebuilding its military capabilities, focusing on explosives, drones and command structures, according to Lebanese security sources cited by Reuters.
• The group has reportedly received tens of millions of dollars from Iran for military purposes, in addition to around $200 million previously reported as aid for displaced families.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has spent the past three months preparing for a possible resumption of hostilities with ‘Israel’ after receiving additional funding from Iran, according to Lebanese security personnel briefed on the group’s activities and cited by Reuters.

The group has focused on replenishing its weapons stocks, procuring explosives and producing drones intended to target ‘Israeli’ positions, two Lebanese security sources told Reuters. It has also been working to restore command-and-control structures that were disrupted during major battles, according to security officials familiar with its operations.

Hezbollah, founded by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 1982, has suffered significant losses in two wars with ‘Israel’ since 2024. Thousands of its fighters and many senior leaders have been killed, while much of its arsenal has been destroyed. ‘Israeli’ forces continue to occupy villages in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah’s traditional stronghold, as pressure grows within Lebanon for the group to disarm.

One Lebanese security source and another person close to Hezbollah told Reuters that the group had received tens of millions of dollars from Iran to strengthen its military capabilities. The funding is separate from approximately $200 million that Tehran reportedly provided to support displaced families in Hezbollah’s Shiite heartlands, as Reuters reported earlier in October.

In response to Reuters’ questions, Hezbollah’s media office said the occupation of Lebanese territory by ‘Israel’ made resistance a legitimate right. The group rejected claims that its command-and-control systems had broken down.

The ‘Israeli’ military declined to comment, while Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva did not immediately respond to Reuters’ questions.

A US State Department spokesperson said Washington would continue targeting Hezbollah’s finances through sanctions and other measures. A US Treasury spokesperson said Iran was running out of money and options for transferring funds.

Hezbollah’s preparations come amid continued uncertainty surrounding the wider regional conflict that began with the US-‘Israeli’ attack on Iran in February.

The group opened fire in support of Iran on March 2, prompting an ‘Israeli’ offensive in Lebanon that killed more than 4,000 people and displaced a quarter of the country’s population, most of them from Hezbollah’s Shiite Muslim constituency.

Hostilities largely subsided over the summer after an interim Iran-US agreement included a ceasefire in Lebanon, with Washington mediating talks between Beirut and ‘Israel’. Full-scale fighting has not resumed in Lebanon despite the collapse of the US-Iranian agreement, although ‘Israeli’ forces have continued carrying out deadly strikes in southern Lebanon.

According to the Lebanese sources cited by Reuters, Hezbollah remains on alert for a possible escalation between Washington and Tehran that could reignite the Lebanese front.

However, the sources said the group had not yet fully replenished its stockpiles or restored its fighting force.

Hezbollah’s efforts to rebuild its capabilities have included replenishing its supply of explosives. Earlier this month, the group acknowledged that explosives seized by Lebanese authorities belonged to it and were intended for use against ‘Israel’.

A Hezbollah official and a Lebanese security source told Reuters that the explosives were specifically intended for explosive drones, which have become an increasingly important feature of the fighting in southern Lebanon.

The reported preparations suggest that Hezbollah is seeking to rebuild parts of its military infrastructure while remaining alert to the possibility of renewed regional escalation. However, the sources said its stockpiles and fighting force were not yet fully restored.