Iran Arms Shipments to Hezbollah Pass through Doha

Hezbollah displays an Iranian-made Fajr 5 missile at a military parade in southern Lebanon. (AFP)
Hezbollah displays an Iranian-made Fajr 5 missile at a military parade in southern Lebanon. (AFP)
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Iran Arms Shipments to Hezbollah Pass through Doha

Hezbollah displays an Iranian-made Fajr 5 missile at a military parade in southern Lebanon. (AFP)
Hezbollah displays an Iranian-made Fajr 5 missile at a military parade in southern Lebanon. (AFP)

Iran has been increasing its shipments of advanced weaponry to the Lebanese “Hezbollah” party, deliveries that now include Global Positioning System (GPS) components to make previously unguided rockets into precision guided-missiles, said American and western intelligence sources according to a Fox News report.

One of the Iranian flights arrived in Lebanon three days ago, officials tell Fox News.

Iran’s Fars Air Qeshm flight number QFZ-9950 departed Tehran International Airport on Tuesday at 9:33 am local time, and flew to an unknown destination, according to flight data obtained by Fox News.

Later in the day, the Boeing 747 jet touched down in Syria’s capital Damascus before continuing on to Beirut, arriving just past 2 pm.

On Wednesday evening, the Iranian cargo plane departed Beirut for Doha, Qatar arriving just after midnight local time, and returned to Iran’s capital Thursday at 6:31 pm.

Western intelligence sources said the Iranian cargo plane carried weapons components, including GPS devices to make precision-guided weapons in Iranian factories inside Lebanon.

The United States and Israel, as well as other western intelligence agencies, have offered evidence that Iran has operated similar weapons factories in Syria and Yemen, in addition to Lebanon, said Fox News.

Last month, at his address at the UN General Assembly in New York, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared photos of what he said were three Hezbollah “secret sites” near Beirut’s international airport, locations where the GPS components from Tehran were being assembled to turn the rockets into precision-guided missiles capable of striking deep inside Israel “within an accuracy of 10 meters (11 yards).”

Western sources told Fox News the weapons components from this week’s chartered 747 fight from Tehran were bound for these Hezbollah secret sites near the Beirut airport to target Israel in the future.
A former head of Israeli military intelligence said Israel will not allow Iran’s weapons shipment to Lebanon and Syria to go unchecked, said Fox News.

“Israel is determined not to let it happen,” said retired Israeli Gen. Amos Yadlin. “This is a source of concern because if the Iranians, on the one hand, are determined to build this precision project with ballistic missiles, and the Israelis are determined not to let it happen—this is a recipe for collision.”

The Israeli military says it has conducted more than 200 airstrikes inside Syria since last year, targeting Iranian weapons shipments.



Trump Speaks with Xi amid Stalled Talks between the US, China over Tariffs

President Donald Trump, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
President Donald Trump, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
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Trump Speaks with Xi amid Stalled Talks between the US, China over Tariffs

President Donald Trump, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
President Donald Trump, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on Thursday at a time when stalled tariff negotiations between their two countries have roiled global trade.

The conversation was confirmed by the Chinese foreign ministry, which said Trump initiated the call, The AP news reported.

Trump had declared one day earlier that it was difficult to reach a deal with Xi.

“I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!" Trump posted Wednesday on his social media site.

Trade negotiations between the United States and China stalled shortly after a May 12 agreement between the two countries to reduce their tariff rates while talks played out. Behind the gridlock has been the continued competition for an economic edge.

The US accuses China of not exporting critical minerals, and the Chinese government objects to America restricting its sale of advanced chips and its access to student visas for college and graduate students.

Trump has lowered his 145% tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% for 90 days to allow for talks. China also reduced its taxes on US goods from 125% to 10%. The back and forth has caused sharp swings in global markets and threatens to hamper trade between the two countries.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had suggested that only a conversation between Trump and Xi could resolve these differences so that talks could restart in earnest. The underlying tension between the two countries may still persist, though.

Even if negotiations resume, Trump wants to lessen America’s reliance on Chinese factories and reindustrialize the US, whereas China wants the ability to continue its push into technologies such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence that could be crucial to securing its economic future.

The United States ran a trade imbalance of $295 billion with China in 2024, according to the Census Bureau. While the Chinese government’s focus on manufacturing has turned it into a major economic and geopolitical power, China has been muddling through a slowing economy after a real estate crisis and coronavirus pandemic lockdowns weakened consumer spending.

Trump and Xi had last spoken in January, three days before Inauguration Day. The pair discussed trade then, as well as Trump’s demands that China do more to prevent the synthetic opioid fentanyl from entering the United States.

Trump had long expressed optimism about the prospects for a major deal, before his post suggesting Xi was making that difficult. Last week, Trump went further, posting, “The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,” Trump posted. “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”