Iran smuggling more weapons to Hezbollah via Syria – report

Israeli officials say Iran has intensified its efforts to smuggle arms to Hezbollah overland via Syria, despite the fall of the Assad regime.

By World Israel News Staff

Iran has intensified efforts to smuggle weapons through Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon as the terrorist group works to rebuild its military capabilities during the current ceasefire, according to Israeli security officials cited by Channel 12.

Israel’s defense establishment has recently detected a significant increase in attempted weapons transfers across the Syrian-Lebanese border, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force believed to be financing and directing the smuggling network.

The weapons are intended to reach Hezbollah directly, according to the Israeli assessment.

“Hezbollah is exploiting the ceasefire to strengthen itself and has therefore stepped up its attempts to smuggle weapons through Syria,” an Israeli security source told Channel 12.

Officials believe the shipments detected or intercepted in recent months represent only a portion of the weapons moving along the route, with additional transfers likely reaching Hezbollah without being discovered.

The assessment comes despite efforts by both Syrian and Lebanese authorities to disrupt weapons trafficking across their borders.

Earlier this month, the Lebanese Armed Forces announced that soldiers had intercepted 122-mm Grad rockets near Arsal after they were smuggled into Lebanon from Syrian territory.

The army said two members of the alleged smuggling network were arrested and a pickup truck used to transport the rockets was seized. Follow-up raids led Lebanese forces to discover a large quantity of additional military ammunition.

Syrian authorities have also reported intercepting weapons shipments intended for Lebanon.

In July, Syrian security forces seized a truck near the Iraqi border carrying rockets and other weapons that officials said were destined for Hezbollah.

Hezbollah denied involvement in that shipment and has maintained that it no longer operates militarily inside Syria.

The new Israeli assessment nevertheless points directly to Iran as the organizer behind the broader effort, identifying the Quds Force — the IRGC branch responsible for Tehran’s foreign military operations — as the body overseeing the flow of weapons and financing.

The allegation comes just days after the United States imposed additional sanctions on Hezbollah and emphasized the organization’s relationship with Tehran.

The US Treasury Department said Thursday that Hezbollah operates “under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force,” while also sanctioning 10 people accused of helping move money to the group.

US officials said one network used couriers, exchange houses, front companies and bank accounts to move funds between Iran and Hezbollah’s base in Lebanon.

The growing concern about Hezbollah’s rearmament comes at a particularly sensitive point in negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.

Under a US-brokered framework agreement signed on June 26, the two countries agreed to a phased process intended to place southern Lebanon under the exclusive authority of the Lebanese state.

The plan calls for armed groups to be disarmed in designated areas, Lebanese troops to deploy there and Israeli forces to progressively withdraw once the removal of Hezbollah’s military presence has been verified.

US-brokered talks in Rome last month focused on establishing initial “pilot zones” where the arrangement could be put into practice. An American official described those discussions as “productive and positive.”

But the central issue remains Hezbollah’s weapons.

Israel has said it will not fully withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon while Hezbollah retains the ability to threaten northern Israel.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, has rejected demands for comprehensive disarmament and insists that its weapons remain necessary while Israeli troops are present on Lebanese territory.

Israeli officials say the latest smuggling activity reinforces their argument that Israel must retain the ability to act militarily when it detects efforts to rebuild Hezbollah’s arsenal.

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