Report: Iran Steps Up Weapons Smuggling to Hezbollah

Israel has identified an increase in weapons smuggling into Lebanon via the Syrian border, according to a report aired Monday on Channel 12 News. The weapons are arriving in Lebanon from Iran and are intended for Hezbollah.

According to the report, security agencies view the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards as responsible for funding and operating the effort on the ground. The smuggling into Lebanon is part of Hezbollah's effort to rearm. A security source told Channel 12 News: "Hezbollah is using the ceasefire to build up its strength, and has therefore stepped up its attempts to smuggle weapons through Syria. We estimate that many shipments are getting through without being detected."

Israel sees this, among other things, as a central reason for maintaining freedom of action in Syria. The reasoning is that identifying a large and significant smuggling operation would provide legitimacy for carrying out a strike inside the country to thwart the threat.

It should be noted that over the past year, the IDF has foiled several smuggling attempts from Syria into Lebanon, destroying trucks carrying weapons in airstrikes. At the same time, Iranian attempts to smuggle weapons into Israel for Palestinian organizations in the West Bank were thwarted. The shipments included explosive devices, anti-tank rockets, drones capable of dropping explosive devices, hand grenades, and machine guns.