As the region faces one of its worst security crises since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, informed sources have revealed that Iran is utilizing European ports to provide cover for arms shipments to Hezbollah. The reports also indicated that Hezbollah received missiles and bombs on board Iranian vessels docked at ports in Belgium, Spain, and Italy.
One of the sources explained that Iran has shifted to maritime arms shipments after Israeli air forces began targeting land-based shipments coming to northern Syria via Iraq, according to a report by the British newspaper The Telegraph on Friday. It appears that weaponry and other goods are being shipped to the Syrian port of Latakia before those vessels return and head to the ports of Antwerp, Valencia, and Ravenna, in an effort to obscure the purpose of their voyages. Subsequently, the weaponry is transported from Latakia south to Lebanon.
In this context, a high-ranking Israeli intelligence source noted that "utilizing Europe helps conceal the nature and source of the shipments, allowing for the alteration of documents and containers." He added that "Europe has large ports, so Iran uses this as a disguise, as it is very easy to conduct manipulation operations at those large terminals where things move quickly, unlike in smaller ports where inspections are more thorough. It's like a game of cat and mouse between us and the Iranians. They are trying to smuggle, and we are trying to stop it. This has been going on for at least three years."
Ronen Solomon, an intelligence analyst based in Israel, confirmed that Iran is directly shipping weapons to Syria, stating that the use of European ports aims to "divert attention" from those direct shipments. He noted that Iran has recently intensified its maritime shipments following increased Israeli attacks over the past month on air and ground infrastructure in Syria and Lebanon. He also affirmed that "the Iranian corridor to Syria and Lebanon by land, air, and sea is operating continuously."
Additionally, he pointed out that these weapons are also reaching Hamas in Lebanon, mentioning that some routes involving Egypt and Libya are also used to transport arms to the movement in Gaza. He stated, "It has long been known that Libya is a route for transferring weapons to Hamas via Rafah in Egypt, which may be the case with recent shipments, as Egyptian inspections are not as thorough as those conducted at Israel's borders." He added, "Some ships, such as the Deeze, are also docked next to the Iranian spy ship Behshad, which is anchored in the Red Sea and receives regular supplies that are unloaded at Egyptian and Libyan ports."
