Report: Israel Warns Lebanon Will Bomb Beirut Airport If Used for Iran Weapon Shipments

Israel has warned Lebanon that it could bomb Beirut’s international airport, according to a report, after an earlier report claimed Iran had recently transferred weaponry to the Hezbollah terror group via civilian flights.

Asharq Al-Awsat, an Arabic-language newspaper published in London, cited unidentified Israeli political sources as saying Israel was investigating claims by the Saudi-funded al-Arabiya network that Iran recently smuggled weapons through Beirut International Airport.

According to Asharq Al-Awsat, Israel has warned the Lebanese government that it could strike the airport if it is indeed used for smuggling attempts.

The Israeli Air Force has admitted to conducting strikes in Syrian territory, targeting Iranian shipments of weapons meant for the Lebanese terror group to use against Israel. The IAF has largely abstained from conducting raids inside Lebanon itself, though it has indicated that it was prepared to do so.

Citing unnamed sources, al-Arabiya said Thursday that Tehran had used the airline Meraj, which recently started flying a direct route between the two nations’ capitals, to transfer weapons to Hezbollah.

Asharq Al-Awsat said the Israeli political sources were aware of the al-Arabiya report but did not actually confirm its authenticity.

Israel has in the past accused Iran of using direct flights to Lebanon to transfer equipment and arms to Hezbollah, but officials note the relative difficulty in doing so as the terror group does not control the airport. Therefore, Iran prefers to first fly such weaponry into Syria and truck it over the border.

The IDF has also accused Hezbollah of hiding underground precision missile production facilities close to Beirut’s international airport.