Israel Accuses Iran of Arming Hezbollah Using Commercial Flights to Smuggle Guns

In an urgent letter sent on Tuesday to the UN Security Council, Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon claimed that Iran is using civilian aircraft to transport weapons to Hezbollah.

According to data obtained by Israeli intelligence agencies, Iran's Revolutionary Guards are transporting weapons and ammunition to the group in Lebanon, via commercial flights from Tehran to Beirut, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

UN Security Council Resolution 2231 established specific restrictions on Iran's nuclear program. UN Resolution 1701 finalized the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah after the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

"The Iranian Al-Quds Force packs weapons, ammunition and missile technology to Hezbollah in suitcases and puts them on Mahan Air flights," the Israeli ambassador claimed.

"These planes fly directly to the airport in Lebanon or Damascus and from there the weapons are transferred on the ground to Hezbollah," he stated.

In July Danon told UN Council members that Hezbollah possessed 17 times the number of missiles it did ten years ago when Resolution 1701 was adopted. Danon claimed that Iran is upgrading the group's arsenal in order to jeopardize the fragile stability of the region.

The diplomat displayed recently-released aerial photographs produced by the Israeli Defense Forces showing Hezbollah positions and included statistics about the organization's weapons stockpiles. Danon said that the group has "more missiles below ground in Lebanon than the European NATO allies have above ground."