Iran denies economic collapse as US claims IRGC running out of money

Iran has rejected United States claims that sanctions and military pressure have left it unable to pay its own forces or support allied groups across the region.

According to Al Jazeera, US CENTCOM chief Brad Cooper said recent military attacks and a naval blockade of Iran's southern ports have dealt severe blows to Iran. Cooper said the measures prevented at least $25bn in Iranian crude exports and helped freeze approximately $350m in cryptocurrency assets linked to Iran.

Cooper also said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, is unable to pay its soldiers and that Iran-linked regional groups face financial shortfalls. He said there were reports of Iran-aligned militia groups withholding payments to their own fighters to send money back to the IRGC, which itself was not paying its troops. A separate report said Iran-backed militias have been sending money back to the IRGC to ease economic pressure, according to Axios.

Iranian authorities rejected the assertion that Iran cannot support its regional allies, while acknowledging that US sanctions and the war created financial challenges. They said Tehran wants the US blockade and pressure lifted on its terms despite the strain. Iran's central bank governor had earlier dismissed US claims that the economy is collapsing under the blockade, according to Reuters.

For decades, the IRGC's Quds Force has supplied money, weapons, components, training and manufacturing expertise to allied groups in the region. Michael Knights, head of MENA research at Horizon Engage, a US-based intelligence and geopolitical risk advisory firm, said Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen have suffered financially during the past few years.

Washington has said it remains committed to denying Iran and the IRGC resources used to threaten regional stability, including through a sanctions campaign known as Operation Economic Outcast targeting military activities, cyber threats and illicit oil trade. Separately, US officials said Iran has deliberately prolonged a stalemate in talks with the United States to influence the US midterms and weaken Donald Trump politically, according to Reuters.