Israel Destroyed Several Iranian Arms Convoys in Iraq

This photo released Sunday June 12, 2022 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a bulldozer work at a damaged runway of the Damascus International Airport, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Friday, in Damascus, Syria. (SANA via AP)
This photo released Sunday June 12, 2022 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a bulldozer work at a damaged runway of the Damascus International Airport, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Friday, in Damascus, Syria. (SANA via AP)
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Israel Destroyed Several Iranian Arms Convoys in Iraq

This photo released Sunday June 12, 2022 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a bulldozer work at a damaged runway of the Damascus International Airport, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Friday, in Damascus, Syria. (SANA via AP)
This photo released Sunday June 12, 2022 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a bulldozer work at a damaged runway of the Damascus International Airport, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Friday, in Damascus, Syria. (SANA via AP)

Israel has carried out numerous strikes against truck convoys smuggling Iranian weapons to the Hezbollah party in Lebanon, revealed an Israeli source.

Israel would target the convoys as they were making their way from Iraq to Syria and carry out the strike in either country.

The announcement was made after Israel last week struck Damascus' old international airport, causing "significant" damage to infrastructure and rendered the main runway unserviceable until further notice.

The airport is located south of the capital Damascus where Syrian opposition activists say Iran-backed militiamen are active and have arms depots.

Israel has staged hundreds of strikes on targets in Syria over the years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

Israel has for years been closely monitoring the transport of weapons to Hezbollah, continued the source.

At first, Israel used to target the weapons depots in Lebanon or Syria, but the military command has since ordered that the convoys be destroyed before they reach their destination, it continued.

Several Iranian convoys would make their way to Lebanon through Iraq and Syria and Israeli commandos would lie in wait to ambush them. Some convoys were destroyed in Iraq, others in Syria and some at the Lebanese border.

Security sources in Tel Aviv revealed that the Iranians then significantly reduced the transfer of weapons by land and have resorted to transporting them through air military cargo or even by sea.

Israeli strikes on Syria would often target these shipments as soon as they are unloaded at Syrian army depots.

Iran has recently started to deliver these shipments through passenger flights to Damascus' old airport. The shipments carry less quantities of weapons, but the arms are more sophisticated than before, according to Israel's Channel 12.

Israeli military officials had previously expressed their concern over the delivery of such sophisticated weapons, including modern drones and precision-guided missiles, to Lebanon.

Israel has therefore, intensified its operations against Iran because it believes such arms would create a strategic imbalance in the region.

Israel estimates that its latest attacks have destroyed 70 percent of arms shipments smuggled from Iran to Syria and Lebanon. The 30 percent that have reached their destination "pose a major threat," warned Israeli military officials.

Channel 12 reported that Israel had informed Russia of its intended strike on Damascus airport last week to avoid a clash.

Israeli media on Monday said last week's strike was not only a message to the Iranians - that Israel is watching them - but also a strong one to Bashar al-Assad's regime that it will pay a heavy price if it continues to allow Iran to entrench itself militarily in Syria.



Jailed Istanbul Mayor Appears in Court as Supporters Gather Outside His Prison

09 April 2025, Türkiye, Sisli: A person holds a placard with the picture of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu during a protest against his arrest in front of the Sisli Municipality in Istanbul. Photo: Tolga Uluturk/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
09 April 2025, Türkiye, Sisli: A person holds a placard with the picture of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu during a protest against his arrest in front of the Sisli Municipality in Istanbul. Photo: Tolga Uluturk/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Jailed Istanbul Mayor Appears in Court as Supporters Gather Outside His Prison

09 April 2025, Türkiye, Sisli: A person holds a placard with the picture of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu during a protest against his arrest in front of the Sisli Municipality in Istanbul. Photo: Tolga Uluturk/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
09 April 2025, Türkiye, Sisli: A person holds a placard with the picture of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu during a protest against his arrest in front of the Sisli Municipality in Istanbul. Photo: Tolga Uluturk/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Istanbul’s jailed opposition mayor appeared in court Friday in one of multiple cases against him.

Hundreds of supporters gathered outside Silivri prison, west of Istanbul, where the hearing was taking place.

Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has been held at Silivri since March 23. The case alleges that he threatened a public prosecutor and is one of six that predate his arrest last month, which led to nationwide protests.

Addressing the judge, Imamoglu said he was in court because he had won three elections against the person “who thinks he owns Istanbul,” a reference to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who launched his political career as the city’s mayor in the 1990s. Erdogan was heavily involved in backing his party’s candidates against Imamoglu.

The hearing was attended by Imamoglu’s wife and son, as well as lawmakers from the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, Halk TV and other outlets reported. The case was adjourned to June 16.

The mayor, who is also the main opposition challenger to Erdogan’s 22-year rule at the next election, faces more than seven years in prison and a political ban for allegedly “targeting, threatening and insulting persons working in the fight against terrorism.”

The charge stems from comments he made on Jan. 20 in which he criticized Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akin Gurlek over criminal cases brought against other opposition figures.

Imamoglu was arrested on March 19 in relation to two investigations, one focusing on corruption in the Istanbul municipality and another alleging terrorism links in his party’s electoral pact with pro-Kurdish politicians.

Demonstrations calling for his release and an end to Türkiye’s democratic backsliding under Erdogan led to some 2,000 people being detained for attending protests banned by the authorities.

The mayor was officially nominated as the CHP presidential candidate while in custody. An election is due to be held in 2028 but may come sooner, and Imamoglu’s imprisonment has been widely viewed as politically motivated although the government insists Türkiye’s judiciary is independent and free of political influence.

Also Friday, two other courts in Istanbul were also holding hearings on cases against Imamoglu.

One is a bid-rigging case that dates back 10 years, when he was mayor of Istanbul’s Beylikduzu district. The other alleges illegal donation collection and stems from a video circulated in the runup to last year’s local elections showing CHP staff counting bundles of cash.