Iran is using diplomats and couriers to smuggle cash to Tehran's ailing ally Hezbollah in Lebanon via flights from Istanbul, Israel's N12 reported, after new authorities in Beirut banned Iran's state carriers.
The display comes against a backdrop of heightened rhetoric from Washington, which has warned of potential military action if Tehran does not curb its nuclear program, limit its missile development, and cease support for regional militant groups.
The unveiling, widely covered by Iranian domestic media, featured senior military figures including the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, and the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, Amirali Hajizadeh, at an undisclosed underground facility.
Reports identified various missile types at the location, including the KheibarShekan, Haj Qassem, Ghadr H, Sejjil, and Emad.
Despite Bagheri's assertions of significantly enhanced missile capabilities and preparations for a future capacity far exceeding Iran's strikes on Israel, the claim that these bases are new cannot be independently verified, as their locations are typically undisclosed.
Iran’s military has previously released images of similar underground facilities, prompting speculation that the newly publicized base may be an older site repurposed for a fresh media campaign.
Adding a nuanced layer to the display, Iranians on social media have pointed out a potential shift in symbolic messaging.
Unlike a similar video released previously showcasing a comparable missile base with both US and Israeli flags painted on a corridor floor – a common practice at Iranian state buildings and military bases intended for symbolic humiliation – the current unveiling reportedly only features the Israeli flag.
The absence of the US flag has been interpreted by some online as a possible signal that Iran might be subtly toning down its direct rhetoric towards the US amidst the heightened tensions and the significant US military buildup in the region.
The IRGC Aerospace Force commander, Hajizadeh, has previously claimed that Iran possesses hundreds of such underground missile sites across the country, a number so vast that unveiling one per week would take two years.
Iran has long prioritized the development of its missile program, which it views as a crucial deterrent, in the absence of an effective air force.
The unveiling also occurs as the United States is in the middle of a bombing campaign on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
Washington says that the Houthis are directed by Tehran, a claim Iran denies, and has threatened direct action against Iran if its support for the group continues.
Trump, in late March, said that confronting Iranian threats was reaching its final stages, suggesting resolution through either negotiation or military action.
A recent report by Axios also indicated that Trump’s letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has set a two-month deadline for a new nuclear agreement, threatening military intervention if no deal is reached.
Lebanon barred arrivals by Iranian airlines Mahan Air and Iran Air last month after the Israeli military said Iran was using the civilian carriers to get funds to Hezbollah.
As a tenuous ceasefire barely holds between Hezbollah and Israel, Lebanon's new president Joseph Aoun has appeared to take a stronger line against the group.
A Lebanese courier Muhammad Arif Hussein was arrested last month at Beirut's international airport with a suitcase containing $2.5 million in cash, in a case highlighting the Tehran's emphasis on physical cash deliveries to skirt sanctions.
Washington last week announced a $10 million reward for information on Hezbollah financing networks.
"The method is based on connecting flights via Istanbul and other third countries, to obscure the Iranian origin," Israeli intelligence analyst Ronen Solomon, editor of IntelliTimes said. "The exchange takes place in the duty-free areas of the airports, without going through customs counters.”
His investigation, published by N12, reported that the courier arrested last month took off from Beirut for Istanbul International Airport on the evening of February 27 and the next morning he arrived at another airport in Istanbul with a ticket for a Pegasus Airlines flight back to Beirut in order to gain access to the duty-free area.
There he met an Iranian official who had landed from Tehran an hour earlier and handed him the suitcase with the money.
The two boarded a Pegasus Airlines flight to Beirut, and the courier was caught by a new security system installed at the airport designed to track drug smugglers.
Diplomatic immunity
In other cases, the couriers arrived directly in Beirut on Mahan Air flights operated by Iran's elite military unit the Quds Force or on Iran Air planes.
They hold Iranian diplomatic passports granting them immunity from customs inspection if they are in possession of a suitcase or sealed diplomatic mail bags.
Once the money leaves the airport it is transferred to a Hezbollah financial bunker in the group's stronghold in southern Beirut, the report added.
After his arrest, Hussein said the suitcase was intended for a religious body, the Supreme Islamic Shi'ite Council of Lebanon, which officially announced it was the intended recipient of the funds.
Standoff
In early January, tensions flared at Beirut Airport when an Iranian diplomat refused to have his bags searched, triggering a brief standoff.
Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry later said that the funds in the diplomat’s possession were for embassy expenses and were allowed entry under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem said in December that $50 million had been earmarked to over 233,000 displaced Lebanese households, openly acknowledging Iranian financial support for the group.
Reports of cash transfers to Iran’s allies have surfaced multiple times over the years. In 2006, Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas official, said on Iranian Al-Alam TV that during a visit to Tehran that he received several suitcases containing $22 million from Qassem Soleimani, the late commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force.
While Lebanon has committed to protecting its borders from arms smuggling, it is harder to enforce the transfer of cash.
