A US State Department spokesman confirmed that the money Hezbollah is said to receive from Iran “basically does not exist,” noting that, according to him, the party relies on criminal activities that include drug smuggling and cooperation with cartels in Latin America. He considered that the party “dragged Lebanon into a suicidal war,” and that its weapons “brought nothing but misery and destruction,” calling on it to realize that “its matter is over.” The spokesman indicated that Washington is working with its Gulf and European partners on a plan to provide billions of dollars in aid for the reconstruction of Lebanon, but he stressed that disarming Hezbollah must come first, considering that peace will not be achieved except by disarming it, and that the “tripartite framework” remains the only viable path to achieving lasting peace and security for Lebanon and Israel.