Tel Aviv Accuses Tehran of 'Smuggling' Weapons, Experts to Proxies Using Civilian Airline

 An Airbus A310 of Iranian private airline Mahan Air taxis at Sanaa International airport following its first flight to Yemen from Iran, in Sanaa March 1, 2015. File/REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi
An Airbus A310 of Iranian private airline Mahan Air taxis at Sanaa International airport following its first flight to Yemen from Iran, in Sanaa March 1, 2015. File/REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi
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Tel Aviv Accuses Tehran of 'Smuggling' Weapons, Experts to Proxies Using Civilian Airline

 An Airbus A310 of Iranian private airline Mahan Air taxis at Sanaa International airport following its first flight to Yemen from Iran, in Sanaa March 1, 2015. File/REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi
An Airbus A310 of Iranian private airline Mahan Air taxis at Sanaa International airport following its first flight to Yemen from Iran, in Sanaa March 1, 2015. File/REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi

An Israeli report published Thursday claimed that it uncovered a new means used by Iran to smuggle weapons into Syria and Lebanon, through the private airline Mahan Air.

The report said that this discovery came within the framework of Israel’s campaign to thwart the new Iranian smuggling route through Beirut, and its threats to bomb the airport.

The report, key parts of which were published by Haaretz, focuses on a study conducted by the Alma Center, which specializes in security research on the northern front in Israel and is headed by Sarit Zehavi, a retired Israeli military intelligence officer.

It claimed that it “monitored the activity” of the private Iranian airline, Mahan Air, which operates flights from Iran to several destinations, including Syria, Lebanon, Türkiye, Eastern European countries and others, and that it transported weapons and sensitive equipment to Hezbollah.

According to the report, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) was purchasing airline tickets from Mahan Air for civilian passengers and cargo, which included weapons and equipment for building weapons and missiles.

It added that the Alma Center was able to monitor the names of 63 pilots in Mahan Air, who could be involved in efforts to smuggle weapons to Syria and Lebanon last year.

“The company serves the IRGC as a civilian platform for smuggling weapons via their Special Unit 190. This unit is in charge of transferring Iranian weapons throughout the Middle East,” the report claimed.

The Alma center published details about people “involved” in this operation, and pointed to the Mahan Air general manager, who was a former officer in the IRGC and a close friend of IRGC Commander Qassem Soleimani, before his assassination.

The report also mentioned the name of Reda Hashem Safieddine, the son of a cleric and head of the Executive Council of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the nephew of Abdullah Safieddine, the representative of Hezbollah in Iran.



Trump Sets New Deadline of 10 or 12 Days for Russia to Act on Ukraine

 In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire in a fire department school following a Russian air attack in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire in a fire department school following a Russian air attack in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
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Trump Sets New Deadline of 10 or 12 Days for Russia to Act on Ukraine

 In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire in a fire department school following a Russian air attack in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire in a fire department school following a Russian air attack in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

US President Donald Trump set a new deadline on Monday of 10 or 12 days for Russia to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine or face consequences, underscoring frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 3-1/2-year-old conflict.

Trump has threatened both sanctions on Russia and buyers of its exports unless progress is made. The fresh deadline suggests the US president is prepared to move forward on those threats after previous hesitation to do so.

Speaking in Scotland, where he is holding meetings with European leaders and playing golf, Trump said he was disappointed in Putin and shortening a 50-day deadline he had set on the issue earlier this month.

"I'm going to make a new deadline of about ... 10 or 12 days from today," Trump told reporters during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "There's no reason in waiting... We just don't see any progress being made."

There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.

Ukraine welcomed the statement. Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, thanked Trump in a social media post for "standing firm and delivering a clear message of peace through strength."

Trump, who has expressed annoyance also with Zelenskiy, has not always followed tough talk about Putin with action, citing what he deems a good relationship that the two men have had previously.

On Monday, Trump indicated he was not interested in more talks with Putin. He said sanctions and tariffs would be used as penalties for Moscow if it did not meet Trump's demands.

"There's no reason to wait. If you know what the answer is going to be, why wait? And it would be sanctions and maybe tariffs, secondary tariffs," Trump said. "I don't want to do that to Russia. I love the Russian people."

Ukraine had proposed a summit between Putin and Zelenskiy before the end of August, but the Kremlin has said that timeline was unlikely and that a meeting could only happen as a final step to clinch peace.

Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday that if the West wanted real peace with Ukraine, it would stop supplying Kyiv with weapons.

Trump has repeatedly voiced exasperation with Putin for pursuing attacks on Ukraine despite US efforts to end the war. Trump has played up successes in other parts of the world where the United States has helped to broker peace agreements and has been flattered by some leaders who suggest he should be given the Nobel Peace Prize.

"I'm disappointed in President Putin," Trump said on Monday. "I'm going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number because I think I already know the answer what's going to happen."

Trump, who is also struggling to achieve a peace deal in Gaza, has touted his role in ending conflicts between India and Pakistan as well as Rwanda and Congo. Before returning to the White House in January, Trump campaigned on a promise to end Russia's conflict with Ukraine in a day.

"We thought we had that settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever," Trump said. "And I say that's not the way to do it."