Report: Hezbollah looking to start smuggling in weapons via sea

An Arabic-language report citing a Western official claims that the Hezbollah terror group is using a naval route to smuggle weapons from Iran to Lebanon, after its overland and air conduits were largely shut down.

According to the report in the Saudi al-Hadath news outlet, Hezbollah is reasserting control over Beirut’s seaport, which was largely destroyed in a gargantuan 2020 blast when ammonium nitrate stored at the site caught fire, creating an explosion that killed hundreds and caused damage across the Lebanese capital.

Attempts to investigate Hezbollah’s role in storing the explosives at the civilian site have been repeatedly stymied by politicians and other figures connected to the terror group.

The Western source quoted in the report expresses fears that Hezbollah’s resumed use of the port could put its operations in danger as the country attempts to recover from Israel’s military campaign against the Iranian proxy last year.

Iran’s use of Syria as an overland route to smuggle weapons is thought to have ended with the fall of Bashar Assad late last year. Israel has also threatened to put Beirut’s international airport out of service if it is used to bring in Iranian arms, as Hezbollah looks to re-arm following the war.

The report names a number of Hezbollah and Iranian officials it says are involved in the attempts to establish the maritime route, including figures from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force.