Lebanon has banned Iranian aircraft from landing at the country's only international airport, according to sources.
Iranian state-owned carrier Mahan Air, which has regularly operated between the countries, had a flight scheduled on 13 February from Tehran to Beirut's Rafic Hariri international airport. But it did not take off after it was denied permission to land by Lebanon's civil aviation authority.
Iran's ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani told Iranian state media today that the Lebanese government had revoked permission for that flight, which typically operates on Thursdays, and that was scheduled for today.
Amani did not say why the permissions were revoked, saying only that the decisions coincided with "statements by an Israeli spokesman that the flights were carrying illegal goods or cash."
The Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said on social media platform X early on Thursday 13 February that Iran's Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), had been "exploiting international flights to Beirut airport by smuggling funds" for Lebanon-based Hezbollah to carry out attacks on Israel.
Amani denied those claims.
He said the Lebanese government had promised to resolve the issue, but permissions for these flights were never given. He said the Lebanese government was looking to establish flights of its own to operate the route, something Iran would welcome, so long as it "does not result in a ban on Iranian flights."
A source with knowledge of the situation said, however, the request by Lebanese authorities was not to operate regular flights but rather to schedule exceptional repatriation flights to bring back Lebanese citizens stranded in Iran by the cancellation of the Mahan Air flight.
Amani said he expected Iranian carriers to continue operating flights to Lebanon next week.
The decision to revoke permission for the two flights this week appeared to have been a one-off, since no formal announcement had been made by the Lebanese authorities about a change in policy towards Iranian carriers.
But speaking to Argus today on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Lebanon's former prime minister Najib Mikati suggested the move had been the result of a formal decision take at state level towards all Iranian aircraft.
The source confirmed to Argus that such a decision has been taken, but not announced because nobody is "willing to take responsibility" for the politically sensitive move.
Videos posted on social media appeared to show a large group of Lebanese citizens protesting on the road to Rafic Hariri airport in response to the decision to bar the Iranian flights. Several individuals were carrying flags bearing the Hezbollah logo, reflecting the strong ties between the group and Iran.
