Iran cuts funds to Palestinian terror groups – report

The Iranian decision, which coincided with the start of the anti-regime protests, has plunged Palestinian factions into financial ruin. 

By World Israel News Staff

Iran has stopped funding several Palestinian terror groups, sparking a major cash shortfall, a Palestinian newspaper reported on Sunday.

Al Quds cited unnamed sources in Lebanon as saying that Iran made the decision three months ago.

The ongoing, nationwide anti-regime protests in Iran also started three months ago after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian who was arrested by the morality police for not wearing a hijab properly.

The sources did not name the groups affected by the decision to cut funding, but Iran is known to funnel money to Gaza-based terror groups Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as well as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

According to the report, Iranian money was used to pay salaries to terror leaders as well as pay for their “various activities.”

The financial crisis triggered by the Iranian move has impacted factions both in the Gaza Strip and overseas, even to the degree that some of them were unable to cover basic expenses including electricity bills, the sources said.

The cuts are also likely to negatively impact media outlets run by the terror factions, the sources added.

A Palestinian Islamic Jihad source in the Gaza Strip recently told the Al-Monitor news website that the terror group’s leaders were greatly concerned over the sweeping protests in Iran. “We are concerned the protests will also affect the future of Iran’s financial and military support,” the source said. ‭‮