Analysts to Voice of America: Israel's Warning Influenced the Cancellation of Mahan Air Flight

After Israel accused the Islamic Republic of using civilian flights to deliver cash to the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon, Lebanon on Thursday prevented an Iranian passenger plane from landing in Beirut. The English section of Voice of America reported on Friday, February 15, that Saeed Chalandari, the executive director of Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, stated in an interview with Iran's state news agency that the Mahan Air flight to Beirut was canceled before takeoff because Lebanon did not allow it to land in Beirut. In a video published by an Iran-based journalist on the 'X' network, which Voice of America considers credible, stranded passengers can be seen protesting in a terminal at Tehran Airport. In a statement released on Thursday by the National News Agency of Lebanon, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation in Beirut said that the government of this country is asking some airlines to temporarily change their flights to Lebanon while implementing additional security measures. The Lebanese Civil Aviation Office did not immediately respond to Voice of America's email request sent on Friday for comments on which airlines were affected by this order. The statement from the Lebanese Civil Aviation Office indicated that the country is consulting with its national airline, Middle East Airlines, to send a plane to Tehran to return passengers to the country. The cancellation of the Mahan Air flight to Beirut occurred after a statement on Wednesday by Avichai Adraee, the spokesperson for the Israeli army, who accused the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of abusing civilian flights to Beirut Airport for smuggling cash to Hezbollah, which is supported by the Iranian government. The Islamic Republic's delegation to the United Nations in New York did not respond to Voice of America's email request sent on Thursday for comments on Israel's claims. The U.S. has sanctioned Mahan Air to target entities involved in the Islamic Republic's financial and military support for Hezbollah in Lebanon. David Dawood, a researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, told Voice of America that he has tracked 26 Mahan Air flights from Iran to Beirut since December 1. He added that Lebanon canceled the Mahan Air flight to Beirut for the first time following the recent ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah began its conflict with Israel in solidarity with Hamas after the terrorist group's attack on Israel. This conflict recently ended with an agreement between the two sides after Hezbollah, supported by the Islamic Republic, suffered heavy blows, including the deaths of its senior leaders. According to Avichai Adraee, Israel has provided information to a U.S.-led group overseeing the ceasefire to prevent the transfer of cash from the Islamic Republic to Hezbollah. However, the Israeli army declined to comment on whether it contacted the ceasefire monitoring group to ask Lebanon to cancel Thursday's flight. This ceasefire obliges the Lebanese government to prevent the transfer of 'weapons and related materials' through the country's border crossings and attacks on Israel by Hezbollah and other armed groups. However, the agreement does not specifically mention the transfer of cash to Hezbollah. Meanwhile, Israel is also required to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon while deploying Lebanese government forces in the area. According to David Dawood, Israel's severe warning to Lebanon regarding serious action against Hezbollah's strengthening led the Lebanese government to realize that Israel is closely monitoring the situation at Beirut Airport. Source: Report by Michael Lipin, Voice of America correspondent.