After the Israeli Air Force has made it virtually impossible for Iranian arms shipments to reach Hezbollah, Iranian weapons are now shipped to the Syrian port of Latakia from the ports of Antwerp in Belgium, Valencia in Spain, and Ravenna in Italy, the Telegraph reported Thursday.
From Latakia, the weapons are shipped south to Lebanon. And Israel is usually prevented from bombing targets in and around Latakia which is where the Russian Army’s contingency is located. The last time the port of Latakia was bombed was in 2021, and Israel has yet to admit responsibility for the attack.
The Telegraph cited a senior Israeli intelligence source who explained that “Using Europe helps to hide the nature and the source of the shipments, switching paperwork and containers… to clean the shipments.”
The source said Iran is capitalizing on Europe’s extensive port infrastructure to conceal its activities. Manipulations are more feasible in large ports where there’s a need for swift movement, compared to smaller ports with tighter scrutiny.
It’s akin to a game of cat and mouse between us and the Iranians, with their attempts to smuggle countered by our efforts to thwart them. This dynamic has persisted for at least three years, the Israeli source said.
The Israeli intelligence sources told the Telegraph that the shipments are coordinated by Iran’s Quds Force Unit 190, and received by Hezbollah’s Unit 4400.
Good to know.
According to another Israeli source, an Iranian spy ship named Behshad which is anchored permanently in the Red Sea, provides protection and concealment for arms shipments that reach the Egyptian coast and from there go to Libyan ports from which they set sail to Latakia.
A source told JewishPress.com that when they were in an EU county buying equipment for IDF soldiers a few months ago, the suppliers were simultaneously taking purchase orders for Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon. Those purchases for Lebanon included advanced night vision gear and rifle scopes.
