Hezbollah is tightening spending and restructuring its priorities as financial pressures mount, adopting measures to rein in expenditures and refocus resources on its core security and military apparatus, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported, citing informed sources.

The adjustments come amid a drop in external funding and growing economic strain, forcing the Iran-backed group to rethink resource management at the organizational, social and political levels.

Political analyst Ali al-Amin told Asharq al-Awsat that Hezbollah “is fully aware that around 80 percent of its justification for existence lies in its financial capability, its ability to pay salaries and provide services. Any erosion of that capability poses an existential threat.”

“The group now treats this decline as a matter of life or death,” he said. “It has begun restructuring its financial priorities to ensure the survival of its organizational core.”

According to al-Amin, Hezbollah is concentrating on its “hardcore organizational circle, specifically the security and military wings, along with key members embedded in the internal structure, who form the party’s backbone.”

According to the report, full payments continue to be made to members considered central to its ideological fabric, such as wounded fighters and families of those killed in combat. Al-Amin described these benefits as a “symbolic and doctrinal red line” whose removal could trigger unrest within the party’s base.

By contrast, support is reportedly being reduced for a broader circle of sympathizers and non-registered supporters, including people who take part in public activities or occasional assignments without holding formal posts.

“These individuals used to earn between $500 and $600 a month, but Hezbollah has started applying a sorting and rationalization policy,” al-Amin said. “In some villages, the number of beneficiaries has been cut by half, based on internal reviews to identify those most active or closely tied to the group.”

He also noted tighter conditions for certain social benefits, such as partial coverage of school or university tuition fees. So far, there is no indication that the “hardcore” circle has been financially affected, suggesting Hezbollah is intent on protecting its ideological and operational nucleus.

One measure introduced this month was a $200 deduction from the salaries of full-time employees, labelled as an “educational contribution.” Informed sources said the cut affected thousands of staff across Hezbollah’s sectors, with notice given via a short internal message and no further explanation.

The sources added that Hezbollah has halted “out-of-country allowances” for members who had been stationed in Syria and recently returned, ending a key monthly supplement for those fighters.

The new financial policy has also seen Hezbollah stop an annual payment of about $200,000 to a political ally. Sources said the decision reflected both internal financial strain and a reassessment that found the funding was no longer yielding tangible returns.

“Political financing has now become subject to a profit-and-loss calculation, whereas it used to be part of an expansion and consolidation strategy,” one source said.

According to the same sources, these steps signal “a gradual shift in Hezbollah’s resource management approach, balancing organizational continuity with expenditure control at a time when battlefield and political challenges demand flexibility in resource allocation.”

Moreover, Hezbollah’s leadership views post-war reconstruction as another strain on its finances. Lacking the funds to provide compensation for damaged homes, the group has placed responsibility squarely on the Lebanese state.

Party officials acknowledge that rebuilding in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs is a priority for residents and a politically sensitive issue ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections. Failure to address it, they fear, could weaken the group’s standing among its core supporters.