US delegation heading to Israel to discuss Iran terror funding

A high-level US delegation is expected in Israel next month to discuss increased cooperation between Washington and Jerusalem in combating Iranian funding for terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

The trip comes on the heels of the nuclear deal signed last month that would see billions of dollars in frozen assets flow into Iranian coffers.

The US delegation will be headed by Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes, Adam Szubin, a senior administration official told Haaretz.

Szubin had been a senior official in the sanctions enforcement regime since 2006, when he was named director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The delegation will meet with officials from various offices including the Foreign Ministry, Mossad intelligence agency and Military Intelligence.

Administration officials have acknowledged that some of the funds released following the lifting of sanctions may go to bolster Iranian proxies and allies in the region, but charged that they expect the majority to be invested in strengthening the damaged Iranian economy.

“The Iranians will continue to give money to Hezbollah,” the official told Haaretz. “We need to cooperate on how the money flows and try to stop it. There is a feeling that we need to intensify what we are doing together. We need to pivot from focusing on the nuclear deal to all the other things Iran is doing, like funding terror organizations.”

The official also said Gulf states also worried about Iranian influence in the region will be instrumental in monitoring and tracking the funds. The UAE, he said, serves as a banking focal point for many Iranian officials.

“There is a level of cooperation from the Gulf that we didn’t have in the past,” said the official.