Illustrative image. Source: the media wing of Kata’ib Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah had smuggled man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADs) into Syria in trucks carrying the symbol of the United Nationals (UN), the Syrian pro-opposition Thiqa News Agency reported on July 12.
According to the report, the missiles were transported from Lebanon to the town of al-Qusayr in the southern countryside of Syria’s Homs in three Hyundai trucks covered in canvas emblazoned with UN symbols and in crates labeled humanitarian aid to prevent them from being attacked by the Israeli Air Force.
The news agency went on to claim that Hezbollah also deployed Iranian-made MANPADs in the Syrian mountainous region of Qalamun which lays right along the border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah will allegedly train its members on the use of these MANPADs “to repel any attack by the Israeli or American air forces” very soon.
Despite the lack of any evidence, the Thiqa News Agency’s report was quickly picked up by many Israeli outlets, including the Jewish News Syndicate and Israel Hayom.
The report is the most recent in a series of Israeli and Arab publications claiming that Iran and its allies are working to deploy air-defense systems in Syria. The lack of any evidence confirming the deployment of such Iranian systems in Syria suggests that the recent claims are just a coordinated propaganda campaign meant to provide a pretext for more Israeli attacks on the war-torn country.
