Iran has been using at least one of its civilian air carriers to smuggle weapons to Lebanon, where they have been delivered to Hezbollah, its proxy in the Middle East, Fox News reported Tuesday.
Quoting an unnamed Western intelligence source, the report suggested that Iran has been using Qeshm Fars Air flights from Tehran to Beirut to smuggle weapons to the Shiite terrorist group over the past two months.
According to the report, "The first flight, on July 9, involved a Boeing 747 that departed from an air force base in Tehran, stopped for a short layover at the international airport in Damascus, Syria, and then continued with a rather 'uncharacteristic flight path' to Beirut."
Flight data showed that the route passed over northern Lebanon, straying from any commonly used commercial flight path.
The second flight took place on Aug. 2, and while it did not stop in Damascus, it followed an irregular route north of Syria rarely used by commercial airliners.
"The Iranians are trying to come up with new ways and routes to smuggle weapons from Iran to their allies in the Middle East, testing and defying the West's abilities to track them down," one intelligence official told the news network.
Western intelligence officials believe Qeshm Fars flights carried materials necessary to produce precision weapons in Iranian factories inside Lebanon.
Fox noted that Qeshm Fars Air is believed to be one of the "various pseudo-civilian airlines used for arms-smuggling" by the Revolutionary Guards and its elite black-ops arm, the Quds Force.