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.
