IDF Eliminates Hezbollah Financier Haytham Abdullah Bakri, Exposing Iran’s Financial Network

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has announced the elimination of Haytham Abdullah Bakri, the head of the “Al-Sadiq” Currency Exchange in southern Lebanon, in an air strike. Bakri was a crucial financial figure for Hezbollah, with strong ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force. The IDF stated Bakri’s currency exchange served as a mechanism to store and transfer funds from Iran to Hezbollah, which were used for procuring weapons, production, salaries, and terrorist operations. This action is part of a broader strategy to undermine Iran’s financial support to its regional proxies. The IDF also noted that the elimination of Bakri is a blow to the Iranian-Hezbollah financial axis. The report also highlighted the assassination of Behnam Shahriyari, a Quds Force commander, who was responsible for transferring substantial funds to Iran-backed militias.