Hezbollah demands Lebanese government lift ban on Iranian planes

Hezbollah on Sunday urged the Lebanese government to reverse a decision blocking Iranian flights from landing in Beirut, following U.S. warnings.

The Iran-backed group said in a statement that it "demands that the government reverse its decision to ban Iranian planes from landing at Beirut airport and take serious measures to prevent the Israeli enemy from imposing its dictates."

A Lebanese source told AFP on Saturday that Lebanon had denied permission for Iranian flights to land twice this week, after the United States warned Israel might strike the airport.

The first incident occurred on Thursday, when Lebanese authorities sent word to Iran that a Beirut-bound flight should not take off.

"Through the Americans, Israel informed the Lebanese state that it would target the airport if the Iranian plane landed in Lebanon," the source said.

"The American side told the Lebanese side that Israel was serious about its threat," the source added.

Lebanon's public works and transport ministry then refused clearance for the flight, after consulting the prime minister and president, the source added.

The message was passed on before the flight took off, said the source.

Another flight was also barred from taking off from Iran on Friday, prompting protests in Lebanon from Hezbollah supporters, who blocked the road to the airport.

"The security of Beirut airport takes precedence over any other consideration," Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Saturday.

"And the safety of travelers as well as the safety of Lebanese citizens are elements on which we will not compromise."

The decision to block the flights came after the Israeli military warned that Iran's Quds Force and Hezbollah were using civilian flights to and from the airport to smuggle money to be used to re-arm the Lebanese group.

Israel has on several occasions accused Hezbollah of using the airport in Beirut to bring in weapons from Iran, allegations denied by both the group and the Lebanese authorities.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place in Lebanon since November 27, after more than a year of hostilities and two of months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah.