Israel Reveals Secret Iranian Gold Smuggling Trade to Finance Hezbollah

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
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Israel Reveals Secret Iranian Gold Smuggling Trade to Finance Hezbollah

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant recently issued an order to uncover a gold smuggling operation between Iran and Venezuela that is funding Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror activity, bypassing sanctions.

In a signed document, the Minister revealed that dozens of kilograms of gold were smuggled on an Iranian Mahan Air flight, which is subject to US sanctions, from Venezuela to Europe and Syria. The funds from the smuggled gold were transferred to Hezbollah.

It said the smuggling ring was uncovered during a joint effort between the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing of Israel (NBCTF) and the Defense Ministry, along with the Israel Police and the Tax Authority.

The document published the names of a number of figures involved in the smuggling operation, mainly Badr Ad-Din Naimi Musawi, an Iranian businessman who owns two real estate companies registered in Britain, “Lotus Universal” and “Strattonview Properties Limited”, and the international trade company “Trading Acs” registered in Dubai.

Musawi is also a key player in the Iranian efforts to use several Latin American countries as intermediaries to evade sanctions on its oil exports and financial transactions, the document noted.

It also mentioned the name of Hamid Evranjad, the CEO of Mahan Air, who is also part of an effort by Iran to strengthen ties in South America and ultimately use those ties to bolster its own terrorist activity.

Also part of this gold trade scheme are high-ranking Hezbollah officials, including Ali Kasir, the representative of Hezbollah's Economic Affairs Ministry in Tehran, as well as Mohammad Kasir, the head of Hezbollah's logistics unit who dealt with the transfer of funds after the gold had been turned into cash.

“Iran sells oil to Venezuela to evade US, European and international sanctions. The price of oil is paid in gold,” the Israeli Minister’s document said.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force and Hezbollah then smuggle the gold from Venezuela to Iran to finance the activities of Tehran-backed militias in Lebanon, it added.

After the gold reaches Iran, it is transferred to currency in Türkiye, and perhaps other countries in Eastern Europe, as well as in Syria. The funds resulting from the deal are then sent to the Lebanese Hezbollah party.

The Israelis estimate the profit generated from this gold trade scheme at millions of dollars.

The Minister’s order came after an Iranian plane was detained in Argentina in mid-2022 on suspicion of also transporting gold.

The plane was registered under the commercial name of Emtrasur, a Venezuelan state-owned company. However, the plane was owned by Mahan Air of Iran, which the US government has sanctioned. It was granted to Venezuela for evading sanctions.

The plane made at least six trips between Caracas and Tehran, and between Moscow and Tehran in the winter and spring of 2022.

In June, a Washington court had transmitted a request to Argentine authorities to confiscate the cargo plane.



Spain Deploys 7,500 Troops to Flood Zone Where Anger Rises at Slow Help

 A woman cleans thick mud, in the aftermath of floods caused by heavy rains, in Sedavi, near Valencia, Spain, November 3, 2024. (Reuters)
A woman cleans thick mud, in the aftermath of floods caused by heavy rains, in Sedavi, near Valencia, Spain, November 3, 2024. (Reuters)
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Spain Deploys 7,500 Troops to Flood Zone Where Anger Rises at Slow Help

 A woman cleans thick mud, in the aftermath of floods caused by heavy rains, in Sedavi, near Valencia, Spain, November 3, 2024. (Reuters)
A woman cleans thick mud, in the aftermath of floods caused by heavy rains, in Sedavi, near Valencia, Spain, November 3, 2024. (Reuters)

Spain is deploying 7,500 troops to its eastern region hit by devastating floods, the government said on Monday in the face of rising discontent over the response to the catastrophe that has killed at least 217 people.

The army sent about 5,000 soldiers over the weekend to help distribute food and water, clean up streets and protect shops and properties from looters. A further 2,500 would join them, Defense Minister Margarita Robles told state-owned radio RNE.

A warship carrying 104 marine infantry soldiers as well as trucks with food and water was approaching Valencia port even as a strong hailstorm pummeled Barcelona some 300 km (186 miles) to the north.

Rescue teams on Monday were searching for bodies in underground garages including a 5,000-car park at Bonaire shopping mall near Valencia airport as well as river mouths where currents may have deposited bodies.

Fatalities from Spain's worst flash floods in modern history edged higher to 217 on Sunday - almost all of them in the Valencia region and more than 60 in the suburb of Paiporta.

Local residents' anger was focused on late alerts from authorities about the dangers of flooding and a perceived delayed response by emergency services.

On Sunday, some residents in Paiporta slung mud at Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and King Felipe and his wife Queen Letizia, chanting: "murderers, murderers!"

Transport Minister Oscar Puente said on Sunday the death toll had stabilized because all victims on the surface had been identified.

The torrential rains on Tuesday and Wednesday caused rivers to swell, engulfing streets and the ground floors of buildings, and sweeping away cars and pieces of masonry in tides of mud.

It was the worst flood-related disaster in Europe in five decades

Even though rainfalls have continued during the rest of the week, there has been no more major flooding in the area. The weather agency issued a warning on Monday morning for Barcelona as hailstorm and heavy rains hit Spain's second largest city.

Some of Sunday's protesters wore clothing with the symbols of far-right organizations that often stage protests against the leftist government. Robles said extremist groups were taking advantage of the situation for political gains.