An investigative report by Fox News, drawing on information from the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), has revealed that Iran Air, the country’s national airline, has been instrumental in transporting weapons and personnel to Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization based in Lebanon. This alarming accusation is part of a broader pattern of Iran’s use of civilian institutions, including airlines, to further its geopolitical and military objectives.
According to the MEK, Iran Air has been involved in covert operations, including transporting “light and medium weapons” to Hezbollah via Beirut’s airport, particularly using runway 17, which the MEK claims is under the control of Hezbollah. These flights reportedly also transfer Hezbollah personnel to Iran for training. The MEK’s report cites a former Hezbollah member who confirmed that the group receives sophisticated arms, including anti-aircraft missiles, via this route.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), of which the MEK is a significant member, has long warned about Iran Air’s deep ties with the IRGC and its role in facilitating Iran’s terrorist activities. Formerly, the NCRI pointed out that many of the operatives involved in the 1990 assassination of Professor Kazem Rajavi, a member of the NCRI, were transported to and from Switzerland via Iran Air. The MEK claims that Iran Air flights were deliberately delayed to ensure the terrorists could make their return journey to Iran.
THREAD
For more than four decades, the clerical regime in #Iran has consistently blackmailed other nations and considered #extremism as "leverage". 1/9https://t.co/ieaaOkZb6y pic.twitter.com/W9u5BJHXqs— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 6, 2022
The U.S. Treasury Department recently sanctioned Iran Air for its role in providing support to Russia during its invasion of Ukraine. These sanctions target Iran Air’s transport of military equipment and aircraft parts for the Russian military, demonstrating the airline’s continuous involvement in supporting Tehran’s global military and strategic ambitions.
For years, the NCRI has persistently warned the global community about Iran Air’s connections to terror-related activities. In 2018, it exposed Iran’s attempts to use Iran Air to repatriate former judiciary head Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi from Germany before he could face potential legal action for crimes against humanity. Shahroudi and his companions were booked on an Iran Air flight, with the regime attempting to shield him from prosecution.
These revelations reinforce the NCRI’s long-standing position that Iran Air is not merely a commercial airline but a critical instrument of Iran’s military and terrorist activities. The NCRI has urged international bodies to take decisive action by consistently sounding the alarm on these issues. Its calls for sanctions and the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist entity have grown more urgent as Iran Air continues to be implicated in covert operations that threaten global security.
#Iran News in Brief
Based on information received from NCRI, #German newspaper @welt exposes Iran Air's alleged ties to terrorism, implicating the airline in operations dating back to the 1990s. Report suggests Iran Air facilitated fund transfers & weapon shipments for… pic.twitter.com/6CmpNid9PU— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 6, 2024
The NCRI also disclosed critical intelligence to The Telegraph on April 2, 2024, revealing that Iran Air has been under the control of Brigadier General Shamseddin Farzadipour, a senior commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), since April 2022. Farzadipour, previously the IRGC’s Air and Space Force aviation commander, was responsible for transporting military supplies to Hezbollah in Syria. The NCRI emphasized that Iran Air has long been used to advance the regime’s military and terrorist objectives, further highlighting the need for international sanctions against the airline.
With growing international pressure, there is an increasing push to block Iran Air’s flights to Europe and other regions. Ali Safavi, a member of the NCRI’s Foreign Affairs Committee, emphasized that Iran Air’s activities blatantly violate international laws and norms, and called on the United Nations Security Council to reinstate sanctions against the regime.
The international community is now faced with mounting evidence that civilian infrastructures like Iran Air are being systematically used by the Iranian regime to further its military objectives, both regionally and globally. The question remains: how long will Iran Air’s operations be tolerated before comprehensive international action is taken?
