Iran Uses Earthquake Relief Mission to Fly Weapons to Syria

Destruction following the Feb. 6 earthquakes in the countryside of Idlib Governorate, northwestern Syria (Reuters)
Destruction following the Feb. 6 earthquakes in the countryside of Idlib Governorate, northwestern Syria (Reuters)
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Iran Uses Earthquake Relief Mission to Fly Weapons to Syria

Destruction following the Feb. 6 earthquakes in the countryside of Idlib Governorate, northwestern Syria (Reuters)
Destruction following the Feb. 6 earthquakes in the countryside of Idlib Governorate, northwestern Syria (Reuters)

Iran used earthquake relief flights to bring weapons and military equipment into its strategic ally Syria, nine Syrian, Iranian, Israeli, and Western sources said.

The sources told Reuters that the goal was to buttress Iran's defenses against Israel in Syria and to strengthen Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Reuters is the first to report this development.

After the Feb. 6 earthquakes in northern Syria and Turkiye, the sources said hundreds of flights from Iran began landing in Aleppo, Damascus, and Latakia airports bringing supplies, which went on for seven weeks.

The sources said two regional sources and a Western intelligence source said the supplies included advanced communications equipment, radar batteries, and spare parts required for a planned upgrade of Syria's Iran-provided air defense system in its civil war.

Reuters spoke to Western intelligence officials, sources close to the Iranian and Israeli leaders, a Syrian military defector, and a serving Syrian officer about the flights for this article.

When asked if Iran had used humanitarian relief planes after the earthquakes to move military equipment to Syria to enhance its network and help Assad, Iran's mission to the UN in New York said: "That's not true."

Regional sources said Israel quickly became aware of the flow of weapons into Syria and mounted an aggressive campaign to counter it.

The former head of research in the Israeli army and ex-general director of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, Brigadier General Yossi Kuperwasser, said Israeli air strikes against the shipments relied on intelligence so specific that Israel's military knew which truck in a long convoy to target.

- "Significant Moves"

An Israeli defense official, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "Under the guise of shipments of earthquake aid to Syria, Israel has seen significant movements of military equipment from Iran, mainly transported in parts."

He said the aid was mainly delivered to Syria's northern Aleppo airport.

The official indicated that the shipments were organized by the Unit 18000 Syrian division of the Quds Force, the foreign espionage and paramilitary arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, led by Hassan Mehdoui.

The Quds Force's Transport Unit 190, led by Bahanem Shahariri, handled ground transportation.

Syrian military defector Colonel Abduljabbar Akaidi, who retains army contacts, indicated that Israel's strikes also targeted a meeting of commanders of Iranian militias and shipments of electronic chips to upgrade weapons systems.

A regional source stated that Israel bombed Aleppo's runway just hours after two Iranian cargo planes had landed with arms shipments under the pretext of aid relief, which was confirmed by two other Western intelligence sources.

Head of al-Quds Force Brigadier General Esmail Qaani was the first foreign official to set foot in Syria's quake zone a few days before Assad himself arrived.

In a humanitarian catastrophe, UN relief planes can seek landing rights from local authorities, and humanitarian goods are exempt from sanctions.

Syrian authorities have granted landing rights to direct flights from Russia and Iran.

A regional source close to Iran's clerical leadership said the quake was a sad disaster, but at the same time, "it was God's help to us to help our brothers in Syria fight against their enemies. Loads of weapons were sent to Syria immediately."

Israel has for years carried out attacks against what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran's influence has grown since it began supporting Assad in the civil war that started in 2011.

A Syrian army officer who asked not to be named said the Israelis were stepping up efforts to defeat Iran in Syria.

"Why now? Simply because they have information that something is being developed quickly. They must stop it and hit it to slow it. The quake created the right conditions. The chaos that ensued allowed Iranian jets to land with ease," he said.

A regional security source and two Western intelligence sources said that a radar station used for drones was also hit on Apr. 3.

"We believe that Iranian militias have transferred huge quantities of ammunition – they have restocked quantities lost in previous Israeli drone strikes," a Western intelligence source said, referring to Iranian flights since the Feb. 6 earthquakes.



Doctor at Brown University Deported to Lebanon without Explanation

A general view of The John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, US, July 27, 2021. REUTERS/Nicholas Pfosi/File Photo
A general view of The John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, US, July 27, 2021. REUTERS/Nicholas Pfosi/File Photo
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Doctor at Brown University Deported to Lebanon without Explanation

A general view of The John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, US, July 27, 2021. REUTERS/Nicholas Pfosi/File Photo
A general view of The John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, US, July 27, 2021. REUTERS/Nicholas Pfosi/File Photo

A doctor from Lebanon who arrived at the Boston airport was deported over the weekend without explanation, despite having a US visa and a job teaching at Brown University.

A judge had ordered she not be sent back until there was a hearing, but government lawyers said customs officials did not get word in time.

It's the latest deportation of a foreign-born person with a US visa in the past week, after a student at Columbia who led protests of the Gaza war was arrested, and another student's visa was revoked. The Trump administration also transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations, The AP reported.

Dr. Rasha Alawieh, 34, had been granted the visa on March 11 and arrived at Boston Logan International Airport on Thursday, according to a complaint filed on her behalf by a cousin in federal court.

Alawieh, who had worked and lived Rhoe Island previously, was detained at least 36 hours, through Friday, and was going to be sent back to Lebanon, the complaint said. Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist, was to start work at Brown University as an assistant professor of medicine.

US District Judge Leo Sorokin issued an order on Friday that an in-person hearing be scheduled Monday, with Alawieh brought to court.

“Whether or not she is in custody of the United States, the court anticipates proceeding with this hearing,” he wrote.

But by Saturday, the cousin filed a motion that customs officials “willfully” disobeyed the order by sending Alawieh back to Lebanon.

Lawyers for the government explained in a court filing Monday that US Customs and Border Protection officers at Boston Logan International Airport did not receive notice of the order until she “had already departed the United States,” the judge noted. They asked that the petition be dismissed.

The judge put a hearing on her case on hold, to give Sorokin's lawyers time to prepare.

Alawieh has worked at Brown prior to the issuance of her H1B visa, the complaint said. It said she has held fellowships and residencies at three universities in the United States.

A spokesperson for Brown said Alawieh is an employee of Brown Medicine with a clinical appointment to Brown.

Brown Medicine is a not-for-profit medical practice that is its own organization and serves its own patients directly. It is affiliated with Brown University's medical school.

“My colleagues and I are outraged over Dr Alawieh’s deportation. She is a valued colleague and we hope for justice and her return to Rhode Island,” said George Bayliss, an associate professor of medicine at Brown University.

US Rep. Gabe Amo of Rhode Island, a Democrat, said in a statement over the weekend that is "committed to getting answers from the Department of Homeland Security to provide Dr. Alawieh, her family, her colleagues, and our community the clarity we all deserve.”

A rally was planned to support her Monday night at the Rhode Island statehouse.