The Israeli Air Force (IAF) forced an Iranian cargo plane full of weapons for Hezbollah to turn around mid-flight on Sunday after intercepting it in Syrian airspace, according to media reports.
The Times of Israel reported:
An Iranian flight suspected to be ferrying arms to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon was blocked by the Israeli Air Force over Syria overnight between Saturday and Sunday, The Times of Israel has learned.
IAF fighter jets intercepted the Iranian plane over Syria and ordered it to turn around, and it did a short while later, a defense source said.
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The interception of the flight came as part of Israel’s efforts to prevent Iranian weapons from reaching the Lebanese terror group, during a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
A ceasefire approved by Lebanon and by the Israeli government went into effect on Wednesday morning. Under the terms of the agreement, Hezbollah is to leave the border area and withdraw north of the Litani River.
Critics on the Israeli side have said that Hezbollah would simply use the ceasefire to rearm, with help from Iran. Israel has said that it will enforce the ceasefire terms vigorously to prevent Hezbollah from threatening northern Israeli towns.
Critics of the Iranian regime in the region reportedly mocked Iran for the plane turning around.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.