Syria: Seizure of 'special weapons' destined for Hezbollah
Damascus - AFP - Syrian authorities announced on Thursday that they had thwarted an attempt to smuggle a large shipment of “special weapons,” including long-range missiles, across the border with Iraq, confirming that the cargo was destined for Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Ministry of Interior stated in a bulletin that its units “thwarted an attempt to smuggle a large shipment of special weapons across the Syrian-Iraqi border and seized it before it could be brought into Syrian territory.”
It added that the operation followed the detection of a parked vehicle within the border zone under suspicious circumstances, which was then subjected to inspection, resulting in the seizure of a shipment containing “long-range missiles, anti-tank guided missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles.”
For its part, the General Authority for Ports and Customs reported that its personnel at the Tanf border crossing “managed to seize a large shipment of weapons, missiles, and drones, which had been tightly concealed inside one of the oil tankers heading to the city of Baniyas.”
On its side, Iraqi authorities announced the “formation of a high-level committee comprising relevant authorities and specialists to fully investigate the details of this matter,” according to a statement by the government’s Security Media Cell.
It noted that “coordination will be established with the Syrian side to learn all details related to this operation and to hold those responsible accountable, ensuring the preservation of the security and stability of the shared border and preventing any attempts to undermine national security.”
Since coming to power in late 2024 following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the new Syrian authorities have repeatedly announced the arrest of cells they claimed were linked to the party and the seizure of weapons destined for it, but this is the first time they have mentioned thwarting an attempt to smuggle weapons to the party across the border with Iraq.
Since overthrowing the previous regime in late 2024, the new authorities have adopted a cautious stance toward Iranian influence and Hezbollah, which militarily intervened during the conflict alongside Assad, under whose rule Syria served as a supply link connecting Tehran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In contrast, the party denies any presence or activity within Syrian territory at any stage after Assad.
Iraqi security sources said the weapons shipment was transported from Iraq to Syria inside a tanker designated for oil transport, after it was officially registered as a cargo of “black oil” and sealed by customs with a warning prohibiting opening it before reaching its final destination “under the guise of preserving the integrity of delivery procedures.”
The sources speculated that the tanker moved within convoys transporting Iraqi fuel to the Baniyas refinery via the Tanf crossing, as part of special arrangements for transporting Iraqi oil to Syria for refining before re-exporting part of it.
They added that the tanker managed to cross border checkpoints, allegedly taking advantage of the limited specialized detection equipment capable of inspecting the contents of liquid tankers, as well as the difficulty of detecting weapons using police dogs after they were wrapped in insulating materials and hidden inside black oil.
