Iranian weapons transported on ships bound for European ports
IRAN is using European ports to provide cover for shipments of weapons to Hezbollah, The Telegraph can reveal.
The Lebanese terror group has received missiles and bombs on ships that go on to dock in ports in Belgium, Spain and Italy, according to sources. Hezbollah and Israel are close to all-out war amid daily exchanges of fire that have seen border regions evacuated.
Iran has resorted to sending weapons to Hezbollah by sea after Israel began bombing land-deliveries through Iraq.
Weapons and other goods are now shipped to the Syrian port of Latakia before the vessels go on to ports in Antwerp, Valencia and Ravenna, The Telegraph was told, in an attempt to disguise the purpose of the journeys. From Latakia, the weapons are transported south to Lebanon.
“Using Europe helps to hide the nature and the source of the shipments, switching paperwork and containers, the ships, to clean the shipments,” a senior intelligence source in Israel said.
“Europe has huge ports so Iran is using that as a camouflage. It’s very easy to do manipulations in those big ports where things have to get moved quickly rather than a small port where there will be more scrutiny.” They added: “It’s like a cat and mouse between us and the Iranians. They’re trying to smuggle and we’re trying to stop it. It’s been at least three years like this.”
Ronen Solomon, an independent intelligence analyst based in Israel, said that Iran also shipped weapons directly to Syria. The use of separate routes via Europe was to “legitimise” their own cargo and “distract attention” from those direct shipments.
The port of Latakia was targeted by air strikes in 2021, though these were not claimed by Israel, which rarely confirms operations in Syrian territory.
Mr Solomon said: “The reason we see Iran’s efforts to transfer through the sea in the last month is because of Israeli attacks on air and land infrastructure in Syria to Lebanon so we are seeing an increase in container shipments.”
Mr Solomon, who works with intelligence officials in Israel, said the Iranian corridor to Syria and Lebanon by land, air, and sea “operates continuously”.
The flow of weapons comes amidst the worst tensions between Hezbollah and Israel since the second Lebanon war, with Israeli leaders warning they are prepared for a ground war.
Mr Solomon says that the routes, which include Egypt and Libya, are also used to channel weapons to Hamas in Gaza. “Switching ships and containers via Europe, especially under the cover of companies based in countries such as Romania, allows Iran to stay further under the radar,” he said.
“Libya has long been known to be a route for weapons to travel to Hamas via Rafah in Egypt, and this could still be the case with the latest shipments as Egypt’s checks are not thorough the way they are done in Israel’s borders.”
Since the Israel-hamas war began in October, five Iranian ships have unloaded goods in Syria, starting their journey in Bandar Abbas in Iran; Daisy, Kashan, Shiba, Arezoo and Azargoun, according to intelligence handed to Mr Solomon. Coordinated by Iran’s Quds Force Unit 190, the weapons transfers are then managed by Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, responsible for shipments.
“Some ships like Daisy are also docked next to the Iranian spy ship Behshad which sits in the Red Sea and receives regular supplies unloaded in Egyptian and Libyan ports,” Mr Solomon added. The US has been urged to strike the Behshad, which has co-ordinated Houthi attacks on shipping.