Lebanon's Aviation Authority Denies Fox News Report on Iran

Lebanon's Civil Aviation Authority has rejected a Fox News report regarding Iran's 'intensified' efforts to smuggle weapons and military technology to Hezbollah. The authority emphasized that the Iranian plane that recently landed in Lebanon was not carrying weapons or military technology, contrary to the network's claims. On Friday, October 19, Fox News reported that a Boeing 747 from the Iranian company 'Fars Air Qeshm' arrived in Damascus from Tehran on Tuesday, October 17, and landed at Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport on Wednesday with 'advanced military technologies' for Hezbollah. However, Lebanon's official news agency reported on Saturday, October 20, that the Iranian flight was a routine one. The authority urged media outlets to exercise caution in reporting such claims. The Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority stated that the Iranian plane took off at 7:30 PM on Wednesday carrying 74 tons of live livestock exported from Lebanon to Qatar, based on official permits from that emirate, and landed in Doha after midnight. The 'Fars Air Qeshm' plane returned to Tehran at 6:30 PM on Thursday after a several-hour stop in Doha. This Iranian private airline has been previously accused of transporting forces and equipment of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to support Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, and several of its aircraft are under sanctions. The airline operates multiple flights on the Tehran-Damascus route, but according to Fox News, the flight path on Tuesday was 'unusual' and arrived in Beirut three hours after landing in Damascus. Fox News based its report on 'U.S. and Western intelligence sources' and added that Iran sent equipment including GPS devices to improve the accuracy of Hezbollah's rockets for this ally. Amos Yadlin, a former senior Israeli military intelligence official, told Fox News that his country is 'determined to prevent any weapons from reaching Syria and Lebanon from Iran.' Israel has previously confirmed that it has bombed Syria over 200 times in a short period to confront what it calls 'the threat posed by the consolidation of Iranian military presence and its allies in the region.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated last week during the opening of the winter session of his country's parliament that Israel would continue to attack Iranian targets in Syria and the region, cryptically adding, 'We are doing this right now.' However, he did not provide further details. Fox News had previously reported two flights of 'Fars Air Qeshm' on the Tehran-Damascus route on July 9 and August 2 as 'suspicious.' According to Israeli media Ynet, following the landing of one of these flights in Damascus, reports emerged regarding an Israeli attack on this airport. Netanyahu stated last month at the United Nations General Assembly that Hezbollah has missile sites around Beirut and that Iran has established factories for precision missiles for Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, Gebran Bassil, Lebanon's foreign minister, took ambassadors from 70 countries in Beirut to visit these sites to prove the 'falsehood of Netanyahu's claims.' Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's secretary-general, stated last week that the movement's policy regarding these reports is 'deliberate ambiguity'; it neither confirms nor denies. Iran's Foreign Ministry also responded to Netanyahu's statements, saying that these slanders indicate an 'intensification of psychological warfare' by 'anti-Iran and hostile centers.' As new U.S. sanctions against Tehran are about to return, all evidence suggests that all flights from Iran, including passenger flights, are being closely monitored by regional and U.S. intelligence agencies.