Israel has threatened to destroy Beirut's Rafic Hariri airport after it was exposed by a Saudi Arabian media outlet that Iran has been shipping weapons there using civilian flights as cover.
The Saudi-owned & Dubai-based Al Arabiya network revealed Thursday night from its sources that the Iranian Meraj airline, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards in Iran, is operating flights to Beirut's International Airport carrying not just passengers, but weapons.
The sources indicated that the flights of the Iranian company that land in Lebanon are suspected of delivering weapons and sensitive equipment to Hezbollah, which may lead to an Israeli reaction and damage to the airport which would harm the Lebanese economy. The sources also stated that the first flight of the Iranian Meraj airline to Beirut airport was on November 14 of this year.
Israel has been operating in recent years to disrupt the supply chain of Iranian weapons both to the Gaza Strip and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. It is highly recognized by security officials that without strong Iranian funding, Hezbollah will have no legs to stand on.
#Israel threatens to bomb Beirut airport, accuses #Iran of smuggling weapons to #Hezbollah https://t.co/JX1e3Bl4H1
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) December 11, 2022
Al-Arabiya also discovered that Israel fears that Beirut's airport will join the weapons smuggling route from Iran to Lebanon. According to them, the flights of the Iranian Meraj company currently land on a weekly basis at the international airport of Damascus, which has been bombed more than once because of the transfers of Iranian weapons.
Meanwhile, in Israel, Hezbollah is being accused of transporting weapons from Iran to Lebanon through "civilian commercial flights" that landed at the Beirut airport. Last May, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Avichai Edrei revealed in posts on Twitter that the weapons transfer route was managed by the son of a Hezbollah leader. The leader took advantage of his high status and the infrastructure of the Lebanese state to help him, the son transferred strategic weapons from Iran to Hezbollah.
Israel threatens to strike Beirut airport over Iran arms shipments - reporthttps://t.co/qYgnLBTUaz
— Ynetnews (@ynetnews) December 11, 2022
(Photo: AFP) pic.twitter.com/b5h17kbyeb
The Hezbollah organization controls Beirut's airport completely and uses its control to promote the interests of the organization, which include smuggling weapons.
The IDF spokesperson further emphasized that "to ensure confidentiality, weapons are transported on civilian flights from Iran to Damascus International Airport, which exposes civilians to danger. Hezbollah uses the state of Lebanon and its citizens for terrorist purposes that serve the Iranian interest."
Israel Warns Lebanon: We’ll Bomb Beirut Airport If Iran Ships Weapons There https://t.co/PDfWGZLXzq
— Mohamed Kamara (@kamarasuper1) December 11, 2022
Iran knows that Israeli forces would never take the chance of downing a commercial passenger jet, even if there were weapons on it, and according to the Al-Arabiya report has been seizing the opportunity. Ultimately, the reports come as no surprise as Iran has proved itself more than once to be a sponsor of terrorism, which includes activities that endanger their own civilian population along with the world. As a major benefactor to Hamas, Iran is aware that the weapons they use are not simply stored in civilian areas like UNRWA-run schools but missiles are launched at Israel from apartment buildings, playgrounds and shopping mall parking lots.
