Lebanon denies weapons smuggling through Beirut port

By Wassim Seif El Din and Ahmed Asmar

BEIRUT / ANKARA (AA) – Lebanon denied reports on Wednesday about weapons smuggling through Beirut's seaport, stressing that the port is "firmly under control."

Addressing a news conference in Beirut, Minister of Public Works and Transport Fayez Rasamny said there is no evidence about smuggling weapons through the port.

"I have requested enhanced and tightened surveillance at the Beirut port," Rasamny said.

He said that smuggling may have occurred in another place, but without elaborating.

The Lebanese minister said that the same security measures applied at Beirut Airport are enforced at the seaport.

On Tuesday, the Saudi-run Al-Arabiya television, citing an unnamed source, said that the Hezbollah group shifted its focus to Beirut port as its primary means of smuggling weaponry, instead of land routes following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.

The news outlet claimed that the Al-Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is overseeing the maritime smuggling operations, either directly to Lebanon or through intermediary countries.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on Iran on the claim.