BEIRUT, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Iran barred Lebanese planes from repatriating dozens of Lebanese nationals stranded in Iran on Friday, in a standoff after Lebanon blocked an Iranian civilian flight following what Tehran described as an Israeli threat to attack it.
Lebanon halted an Iranian flight to Beirut this week after the Israeli military accused Tehran of using civilian aircraft to smuggle cash to Beirut to arm Hezbollah.
Iran said it would not allow Lebanese flights to land until its own flights were cleared to land in Beirut.
The standoff has left dozens of Lebanese citizens stranded in Iran for three days after attending a religious pilgrimage. They had been due to return to Beirut on Iran‘s Mahan Air before Lebanon barred the plane from landing.
Iranian Foreign Ministry 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.
In a post on X, Israel’s military spokesman Avichay Adraee said Iran‘s elite Quds Force and Hezbollah had used civilian flights to smuggle funds to Beirut. Israel’s military would “not allow Hezbollah to arm itself and will use all means at its disposal” to enforce a truce that requires Lebanon to halt arms transfers to Hezbollah, Adraee said.
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After blocking the Iranian flight, Lebanon dispatched two planes on Friday from its own national airliner Middle East Airlines to bring the stranded Lebanese home from Iran, but Iran refused to allow the Lebanese aircraft to land on its territory.
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.
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Joe Raggi told Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed on Friday that his ministry was working to resolve the issue with its Iranian counterpart.
Hezbollah parliamentarian Ibrahim al-Moussawi on Thursday called on Lebanon’s government to “take the necessary measures to guarantee Lebanon’s sovereignty over all its public facilities, most importantly the airport”.
Dozens of Hezbollah supporters cut off roads around Beirut’s airport late on Thursday in protest.
In September, Lebanon’s transport ministry ordered an Iranian aircraft not to enter its airspace after Israel warned air traffic control at Beirut airport that it would use “force” if the plane landed.
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily, Editing by Peter Graff)
