Lebanese militant group Hezbollah raised 73.5 million Yemeni rials ($132,000) from a fundraiser held by the Houthi-affiliated radio station Sam FM 99.1, according to reports from Bloomberg.

The campaign ran from May 25 to July 5, reported the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency.

It raised more than $100,000 despite Yemen being the poorest Arab nation, with the UN reporting that 85 percent of Yemen’s population is in urgent need of humanitarian aid.

Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist group by countries and organizations including the US, UK and the Arab League.

This was the third fundraiser held by the Sam FM radio station, but the first for Hezbollah, which relies on Iran for financial assistance.

With US sanctions hurting Iran’s economy, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah has been forced to look to public donations for financial support. The group has faced financial challenges after President Trump introduced new restrictions on trade with Iran last year.

Hezbollah openly supports the Houthi militia, Nasrallah telling the Houthis on June 30: “I wish I could be one of your fighters and fight under the guidance of your brave and dear leaders.”

The radio station, Sam FM 99.1, had said that the donations from supporters had been accepted through the radio station’s “official account in all Yemeni post offices.”

The Sam FM radio campaign said: “Support the masters of the mujahedeen in this world, the purest people, Hezbollah.”

Hamoud Mohammad Sharaf, a broadcaster at Sam FM, said these donations would work toward “strengthening the Axis of Resistance,” referring to both Hezbollah and Hamas, two Iranian allies.

Addressing a press conference in Riyadh in May, Arab Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said that the Houthis have seized the missile capabilities of the Yemeni army and that Hezbollah and Iran have supplied the Houthis with Fateh missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 14:05 - GMT 11:05