The terror organization Hezbollah escalated its confrontation with the Lebanese government Tuesday, threatening to shut down Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut over Iran. A senior official in the organization told Al-Manar, a network affiliated with Hezbollah, that the threat came in response to the ban on Iranian aircraft landing in the Lebanese capital. The threat came as Lebanese President Aoun was meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
1+After claiming that Hezbollah is “exercising restraint” to find a solution to the Iranian issue in Lebanon, the senior official declared that if the situation continues as is, the organization will take many “peaceful measures” and added: “No plane will be allowed to land in Beirut, and no ambassador will remain in Lebanon.”
This escalation is a continuation of Hezbollah’s positions—the group has consistently attacked the framework agreement and the negotiations Lebanon is conducting with Israel. It’s also part of the terror organization’s attempt to prevent access that would lead to isolating the Lebanese arena within the country’s borders, in a way that disconnects it from Iran and reduces Tehran’s influence in Lebanon.
1+Despite the threat, sources in the Lebanese Foreign Ministry confirmed to Saudi media that they have not changed any decisions the government made previously, and that authorities continue to implement the measures approved against Iran as sovereign and security decisions. At the same time, visa requirements for Iranian citizens were reinstated after incidents that indicated the presence of operatives and commanders from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards inside Lebanon.
The decision to prevent Iranian planes from landing in Beirut is not new. In fact, the Lebanese government made that decision nearly two years ago, when an IDF spokesman notified senior officials in the country that Israeli forces would not allow Iranian planes to reach Beirut—even if it required shutting down the international airport.