Israel, US coordinate to prevent transfer of Iranian funds to Hezbollah, Hamas

A senior US delegation is scheduled to arrive in Israel early in September to discuss strengthening intelligence cooperation between Tel Aviv and Washington.

A senior official in the delegation said the intelligence cooperation aims to block the transfer of funds from Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip following the nuclear deal.

The US delegation is headed by Adam J. Szubin, under-secretary for terrorism and financial crimes, Department of the Treasury.

The delegation is expected to meet with senior officials in the Israeli Foreign Ministry and in the National Security Council and Intelligence Division of the Israeli army.

The US official was reported as saying that the United States believes that a majority of the Iranian funds released as a result of the nuclear deal and the removal of economic sanctions will be invested in the development of the Iranian economy, and that part of it will be channelled to the Revolutionary Guards and then to Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

He added that the United States is interested in exerting greater efforts to follow-up on this money, and that it must cooperate with Israel and focus on uncovering the funds channels to stop them, instead of debating about the nuclear deal.

The US and Israel have been debating how much Iran will benefit following the removal of sanctions. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that according to Israeli intelligence assessments, Iran will receive nearly $150 billion in the first few months after sanctions are lifted and more than $500 billion in the next ten years.