US military: Iraqi factions are diverting their members’ salaries to Iran to counter the embargo
US military: Iraqi factions are diverting their members’ salaries to Iran to counter the embargo
2026-10-17
Shafaq News – Special Translation
The commander of the US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, said that armed groups in the region, including Iraqi factions, have begun transferring funds to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to alleviate the economic pressures it faces after nine months of war.
Cooper explained, in a video message posted late Friday night on the X platform, that the naval blockade has cost Iran an estimated $25 billion in oil revenues, noting that the US Central Command and the Treasury Department have managed in recent weeks to freeze $350 million of Iranian assets held in the form of cryptocurrencies.
He added that Iranian-backed groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas and Iraqi factions, have received funding from the Revolutionary Guard for years, but are now being asked to return those funds.
Cooper stated that the financial pressures on the Iranian military establishment have reached such a high level that there are reports that pro-Tehran factions across the region are withholding the salaries of their fighters to divert funds to the Revolutionary Guard, which in turn is facing difficulties in paying its forces.
He noted that the Iranian government is withholding salaries, pensions, and benefits from public sector employees, including members of the internal security forces and the Revolutionary Guard.
Cooper attributed the marked increase in Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz to what he described as a state of desperation within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
shafaq.com
