On February 28, Reuters, quoting three anonymous and unidentified sources, reported that authorities at Lebanon’s Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport seized $2.5 million in cash destined for Hezbollah.
The funds, the report stated, were concealed by a man arriving from Turkey. The development comes after a January 31 Wall Street Journal report cited Israeli accusations that “Iranian diplomats and others” were “smuggling tens of millions of U.S. dollars stuffed into suitcases through the Beirut airport to militant group Hezbollah.” Further, the WSJ stated that the unnamed “others” included “Turkish citizens” flying “from Istanbul to Beirut with cash for the U.S. designated terrorist organization.”
Both UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the November 27 ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon require Beirut to prevent its borders and ports of entry from being used to smuggle arms or related materiel to Hezbollah, though the documents don’t specifically address cash.
The January 31 Wall Street Journal report noted that the US-led committee responsible for overseeing the ceasefire deal’s implementation—but not adjudicating alleged violations—passed on Israeli complaints to the Lebanese government, then still headed by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The report also noted that “officials of some governments represented on the committee” expressed their awareness of Iran’s use of Beirut’s airport to smuggle cash “or considered the [Israeli] allegations credible.”
At the time, Turkish officials denied allegations of Istanbul being a conduit for smuggling to Lebanon, saying large amounts of cash moving through Istanbul Airport “would have been detected by X-ray machines or other security measures.” They indicated no such activity had been detected, and no third party had raised the issue with Ankara.
However, in mid-February, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar raised the concern again with a delegation of visiting US Senators and directly accused Turkey of cooperating with Iranian efforts to fund Hezbollah. Saar said Israel had noted an “intensified Iranian effort to smuggle money into Lebanon for Hezbollah to restore its power and status,” an effort which was “being carried out, among other channels, via Turkey and with its cooperation.”
Ankara previously adopted a hostile stance to Israel’s campaign in Lebanon against Hezbollah. For example, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Jerusalem of committing “genocide” in Lebanon after the Israelis assassinated Hezbollah’s then-Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
One of the sources quoted by Reuters noted that Lebanese authorities confiscating $2.5 million was the “first time such a seizure had been made.” If accurate, this assessment contradicts previous assertions by Lebanese authorities and other sources claiming Lebanon had previously seized such funds. Such claims include Beirut’s alleged detention and thorough search of Mahan Air flight on January 2, and a claim published on social media on February 10 that Lebanese airport authorities seized $12 million in cash and a weapons shipment bound for Hezbollah aboard an Iraqi Airways plane at Beirut’s airport. However, an unnamed Lebanese security source denied these reports as containing “no truth” to Annahar, further saying Iraqi flights were subjected only to “normal protocols and search procedures.”
Beirut’s interdiction measures are under closer scrutiny after Hezbollah’s recent war with Israel and Lebanon’s post-war aim to restore quiet. Beirut Airport has long been a conduit for Iranian smuggling of funds and arms to Hezbollah, and its importance for Iran has increased significantly since the downfall of Bashar al Assad’s regime in neighboring Syria and the attempts of Damascus’s new authorities to control the Lebanon-Syria border.
Lebanon began tightening security at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport after Avichay Adraee, the Arabic media spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), highlighted its continued use by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) to resupply Hezbollah with funds, and the United States warned Lebanon of potential Israeli military action.
Israeli forces continue to occupy five points in south Lebanon, from which Beirut wants the IDF to withdraw. Lebanese authorities demonstrating enforcement performance against Hezbollah may allow the new Lebanese government to increase international pressure on Jerusalem to remove its troops. Such an effort would reflect Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s stated goal of recruiting Arab and international support “to force the [Israeli] enemy to withdraw from our occupied lands and the so-called five points.”
It remains an open question whether Beirut’s tightened airport controls or its seizure of the $2.5 million portend a long-term and consistent change in how Lebanon will deal with funds destined for Hezbollah, or whether it is a temporary measure aimed at shorter-term goals. If Lebanon acts in good faith, it’s also uncertain whether authorities will be able to seize all incoming cash transfers and how many will get through.
January statements by Ankara’s authorities denied a smuggling issue existed, indicating Turkey is unlikely to be cooperative on the matter. In addition, Iran utilizes other conduits to support Hezbollah. For example, on December 7, 2024, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem expressed gratitude to the Iraqi government, the country’s religious authorities under Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the funds controlled by Iraq’s Shiite sacred shrines, the Popular Mobilization Forces, and the Iraqi people “for their financial assistance.”
Qassem also thanked the Houthis, Yemen’s pro-Iranian leadership, but was unclear about whether they aided Hezbollah financially during or since the recent war with Israel. However, the Houthis have fundraised for Hezbollah in the past. In May 2019 and July 2019, the Yemeni organization called on its supporters to donate to Hezbollah after the US increased sanctions on the group. The Houthis also asked for donations to Hezbollah after the August 2020 Beirut port explosion and in November and December of 2024.
Flights from Yemen and Iraq continue to arrive regularly in Beirut with little indication of tightened controls on these arrivals, with a report citing the use of “normal protocols and search procedures.” In addition, while Lebanon has suspended the arrival of Iranian-owned airlines indefinitely, other flights still transit through Tehran to Beirut.
