The United States on Wednesday dismissed a Reuters report that Iran had sent $200 million to Hezbollah, saying the Lebanese armed group was using what it described as false claims about Iranian funding to try to save face after suffering heavy losses in its war with Israel.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said Hezbollah had a strong incentive to promote such reports through anonymous sources, while insisting that no such funds were available.

“Hezbollah has every incentive to push stories like these through anonymous sources,” Pigott said. “It can claim whatever it wants, but the money is not there.”

Pigott said Hezbollah had suffered “devastating blows” in the conflict and had caused suffering for hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians.

He said the group was now seeking to portray itself as financially supported by Iran despite growing economic pressure on Tehran.

“Iran’s oil exports are under blockade, its currency is in a rapidly accelerating decline, and the regime is looking over its shoulder in fear,” Pigott said.

His comments came after Reuters reported, citing two people with direct knowledge of the transfer, that Hezbollah had received $200 million from Iran to help people displaced by this year’s war with Israel.

According to the Reuters report, Hezbollah planned to make an initial payment of $3,000 to families affected by the conflict, with priority given to those whose villages had been destroyed or remained inaccessible because of Israeli occupation. One source estimated that about 50,000 families would qualify for the initial assistance.

A Hezbollah official confirmed that the group had secured an unspecified amount of money and said a distribution plan would be announced, but did not disclose the source of the funds.

Pigott said Washington would continue targeting Hezbollah’s financial networks.

“The United States will continue to choke off Hezbollah’s sources of funding through sanctions, while supporting the legitimate Lebanese government’s ability to rebuild the south,” he said.

“Hezbollah has brought nothing but misery to Lebanon and to the people it claims to represent. It launched a war on behalf of Tehran, causing billions of dollars in damage,” Pigott said.

He added that even if the reported Iranian payment existed, it would not be enough to address the scale of the damage.

“Even if this consolation payment were real, it wouldn’t be enough,” he said.

Pigott also said the Trump administration would prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its military capabilities.

“Under President Trump’s administration, Hezbollah will never be able to regain its strength or rebuild its terrorist infrastructure,” he said.