Ambassador Danon Reveals New Intelligence on Hezbollah Smuggling at UN Meeting
On Monday, the United Nations Security Council held a discussion on the “Situation in the Middle East,” with Israel participating. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, revealed intelligence information about Iran’s involvement in Hezbollah’s buildup in Lebanon, with help from Syria, a direct violation of UN Resolution 1701.
“In the years 2018-2019, Israel found that dual-use items are smuggled into Lebanon to advance Hezbollah’s rocket and missile capabilities,” Ambassador Danon revealed to the Council. “Iran and the Quds Force have begun to advance the exploitation of the civilian maritime channels, and specifically the Port of Beirut. The Port of Beirut has become the Port of Hezbollah.”
According to Danon, Iran and Hezbollah were aided by Syrian agents who purchased the equipment from foreign civilian companies and transferred the equipment to Lebanon. These agents misled the companies when they officially unloaded the equipment at the Port of Beirut, but eventually succeeded in reaching Hezbollah’s missile production facilities. Danon then asked the members: “Are you absolutely sure your companies are not the ones selling dual-use equipment to the hands of Hezbollah? Are you sure your citizens know the end-users of these dual-use items?”
The Israeli ambassador said that Hezbollah regularly uses civilian centers in Lebanon to illegally transport arms, in flagrant violation of Security Council Resolution 1701. Danon presented the Security Council with a map of various weapons transfer routes to Hezbollah for it to arm itself against Israel: from Damascus airport to Beirut’s Hariri airport; the official border crossings between Syria and Lebanon, such as the Masnaa crossings; and, as mentioned above, the Port of Beirut.
