Iran denies collapse is close as US claims IRGC running out of money

Iranian authorities have remained defiant despite the financial strain, saying they want to lift the US blockade and pressure on their terms. Save Share Tehran, Iran –Iranian authorities have rejected claims that Iran is unable to support its regional allies, but acknowledged that the United States’ sanctions and the war have created financial challenges. US Central Command chief Brad Cooper claimed last week that a combination of military attacks and a naval blockade of Iran’s southern ports “has dealt severe blows” to the country. The admiral said the US had prevented at least $25bn in Iranian crude exports and helped freeze approximately $350m in cryptocurrency assets. This means the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are now unable to pay their soldiers and Iran-linked regional groups suffering from financial shortfalls. “The financial strain on Iran’s military has become so significant that there are reports of Iran-aligned militia groups across the region withholding payments to their soldiers in order to funnel money back to the IRGC, which also is not paying its troops,” Cooper said. This is being portrayed as a victory for the US in its war with Iran, which so far has shown very few tangible victories for Washington. Michael Knights, head of MENA research at US-based intelligence and geopolitical risk advisory firm Horizon Engage, said Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen have suffered financially during the past few years. “The national economies feeding the Hezbollah and Houthi movements are badly broken, so they continue to receive stipends and in-kind funding – in fuel products – from Iran,” Knights told Al Jazeera. For decades, the IRGC Quds Force has supplied money, weapons, components, training and manufacturing expertise to regional allied groups. It has enabled partners at loggerheads with the US and Israel to assemble or produce a number of weapons locally, according to United Nations experts and US officials. The axis groups also draw on businesses, including oil exports, as well as donations and local resources to fund their operations. Some Iraqi factions have been integrated into the official security forces and receive government funding through thePopular Mobilisation Forces. Allied commercial networks in Iraq are selling Iranian commodities and distributing proceeds through intermediaries and exchange houses, the US Department of the Treasury has claimed....