US warns Israel may strike Beirut airport
Supporters of the Lebanese Shiite Islamist movement Hezbollah gather for a rally to block the road to Beirut International Airport over a decision to bar two Iranian flights from landing there, in Beirut on February 15, 2025. An AFP correspondent said tear gas was fired to disperse crowds on February 15 after again blocking amidst calls by the Iran-backed group for a sit-in.
Ibrahim AMRO / AFP
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BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Sunday urged the Lebanese government to reverse a decision blocking Iranian flights from landing in Beirut, following United States warnings.
The Iran-backed group said in a statement that it “demands that the government reverse its decision to ban Iranian planes from landing at Beirut airport and take serious measures to prevent the Israeli enemy from imposing its dictates”
A Lebanese source told Agence France-Presse on Saturday that Lebanon had denied permission for Iranian flights to land twice this week, after the US warned Israel might strike the airport.
The first incident occurred on Thursday, when Lebanese authorities sent word to Iran that a Beirut-bound flight should not take off.
“Through the Americans, Israel informed the Lebanese state that it would target the airport if the Iranian plane landed in Lebanon,” the source said.
“The American side told the Lebanese side that Israel was serious about its threat,” the source added.
Lebanon’s public works and transport ministry then refused clearance for the flight, after consulting the prime minister and president, the source added.
The message was passed on before the flight took off, said the source.
Another flight was also barred from taking off from Iran on Friday, prompting protests in Lebanon from Hezbollah supporters, who blocked the road to the airport.
“The security of Beirut airport takes precedence over any other consideration,” Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Saturday.
“And the safety of travelers as well as the safety of Lebanese citizens are elements on which we will not compromise.”
The decision to block the flights came after the Israeli military warned that Iran’s Quds Force and Hezbollah were using civilian flights to and from the airport to smuggle money to be used to re-arm the Lebanese group.
Israel has on several occasions accused Hezbollah of using the airport in Beirut to bring in weapons from Iran, allegations denied by both the group and the Lebanese authorities.
