Hezbollah and Lebanese officials deny Israel’s claims of using Beirut’s airport for arming the group.
Iran has accused Israel of disrupting flights from Tehran to Beirut after an Iranian plane was denied permission to land in Lebanon’s capital.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Friday that Israel had threatened a passenger plane carrying Lebanese citizens from Tehran “which caused a disruption in the country’s normal flights to Beirut airport”.
He condemned the alleged Israeli threat as a violation of international law. He also called for the International Civil Aviation Organization and other world bodies “to stop Israel’s dangerous behaviour against the safety and security of civil aviation”.
Later on Friday, Iran barred Lebanese planes from repatriating dozens of Lebanese nationals stranded in Iran, saying it would not allow Lebanese flights to land until its own flights were cleared to land in Beirut.
Iran’s ambassador to Beirut, Mojtaba Amani, told Iran’s state television on Friday that Iran would allow the planes to land only if Iranian flights were allowed to travel to Beirut.
“For sure the Lebanese government’s request will be accepted, but on condition that they do not impede Iranian flights,” he said.
The standoff has left dozens of Lebanese citizens stranded in Iran for three days after attending a religious pilgrimage.
The statement by Baghaei did not specify the nature of the threat attributed to Israel, but comes after an Israeli army spokesperson claimed that Iran’s elite Quds Force and the Lebanese group Hezbollah had used civilian flights to smuggle funds to Beirut.
Hezbollah and Lebanese officials have denied Israel’s claims that Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport was used to arm the group.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of using Lebanon’s only airport to transfer weapons from Iran. The Israeli army struck the area during its war with the Lebanese armed group last year.
On Thursday, Lebanon’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it had “temporarily rescheduled” some flights, including from Iran, until February 18 as it was implementing “additional security measures”.
That date coincides with the deadline for the full implementation of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.
Late on Thursday, a crowd of Lebanese supporters of Hezbollah blocked the Beirut airport road and burned tyres to protest the decision.
