Iran-backed Hezbollah contests ban on Iranian planes flying into Beirut airport
The Lebanese government has banned Iranian flights landing in Beirut twice in the last week for fears that Israel may shoot them down, according to AFP.
The Lebanese government has banned Iranian flights landing in Beirut twice in the last week for fears that Israel may shoot them down, according to AFP.
The US gave warnings to Lebanon that Israel may take military action as Iran-backed Hezbollah continues to use the airport to bring in weapons and money from Iran amid a US-France brokered ceasefire, the report said. Hezbollah and Iran deny the allegations.
A statement on Hezbollah media Al Mayadeen, responded to contest the closure: “Hezbollah demands that the Lebanese government reverse its decision of preventing the Iranian plane from landing at Beirut airport and take serious measures to prevent the Israeli enemy from imposing its dictates and violating sovereignty.”
Hezbollah, designated a terrorist organization by countries such as the US and UK, has been under greater scrutiny since the November ceasefire with Israel has seen the country’s army take greater control under the watch of the US and France which mediated the truce.
Last Thursday, Lebanese authorities sent word to Iran that a Beirut-bound flight should not take off.
On Friday, another flight was banned from taking off from Iran, triggering protests in Lebanon from supporters of the Iran-backed group who blocked the road to the country’s only international airport. The Lebanese army fired tear gas at protesters.
Speaking to AFP, a source said: “Through the Americans, Israel informed the Lebanese state that it would target the airport if the Iranian plane landed in Lebanon.
“The American side told the Lebanese side that Israel was serious about its threat.”
Last year, The Telegraph reported that Beirut International Airport was being used by Hezbollah as a smuggling route for Iran to arm and fund Hezbollah, quoting airport whistleblowers.
The latest incidents would be classed as breaches of the fragile ceasefire, which both sides claim the other has breached dozens of times.
Last week, Lebanese media also reported that flights into Beirut from Iraq were undergoing extra scrutiny to ensure they were not being used by Iran to send cash to Hezbollah.
