Lebanon extends Iran flight ban, will close airport during Nasrallah funeral

AL Monitor-Feb18th2025

Beatrice Farhat

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s authorities announced Tuesday that all flights to and from Lebanon will be suspended this weekend amid the funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and a ban on Iranian flights to the country remains in effect indefinitely.

In a statement carried by the official National News Agency on Tuesday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation at the Rafik Hariri International Airport confirmed that the airport will be closed on Sunday, Feb. 23, from 12:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. local time.

The closure of Lebanon’s only airport is a safety measure during the funeral procession for Nasrallah and his designated successor, Hashem Safieddine. The late Hezbollah head was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburb of Beirut known as Dahiyeh — a Hezbollah stronghold — on Sept. 27, and Safieddine was killed on Oct. 4.

Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem announced in a televised speech Feb. 2 that the public funerals of the two slain leaders were delayed due to the “critical circumstances” facing the country at the time of their deaths, referring to the war between the Iran-backed group and Israel.

The funeral will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in the Bir Hassan neighborhood in southern Beirut. Nasrallah will be buried in an area near the airport road in Dahiyeh, while Safieddine will be laid to rest in his home town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr in southern Lebanon, according to Qassem.

Lebanese news outlets reported Sunday that the Air France and Emirates airlines had canceled their flights to Lebanon for the day of the funeral.

Ban on Iranian flights extended indefinitely

Tensions between Lebanon’s new authorities and Hezbollah and their supporters have escalated since the Lebanese government blocked an Iranian flight from landing in Beirut last week.

Hezbollah supporters staged protests around the Beirut airport and blocked the road leading to the facility on Thursday after the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority informed an Iranian Mahan Air flight coming from Tehran that it could not land.

The decision follows allegations by the Israeli military that Iran’s Quds Force — a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — smuggles funds to Hezbollah in planes.

The protests continued until Saturday as Hezbollah supporters accused Lebanese authorities of being complicit with Israel and allowing US and Israeli interference in the country’s internal affairs. The protests over the weekend turned violent, with the Lebanese army firing tear gas at crowds that attempted to approach the airport’s entrance. The protesters responded by throwing stones at the soldiers.

In a statement on Saturday, Hezbollah condemned the use of violence by the army against  the “peaceful” protesters and called for an investigation. The group also urged the Lebanese government to reverse its suspension of Iranian flights, saying the move amounted to “compliance with the enemy’s dictates,” in reference to Israel.

On Monday, presidential spokesperson Najat Sharafeddine told reporters that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport was instructed to extend the suspension of flights to and from Iran indefinitely. The announcement followed a meeting between President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam as well as the ministers of defense, foreign affairs, interior and public works and transport.

The ban on Iranian flights stirred controversy in Iran. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday that the Iranian foreign minister and his Lebanese counterpart held “constructive talks” during a phone call on Saturday about resuming flights between the two countries.

Iran has long been accused of supplying Hezbollah with funds and weapons, often through Syria. However, the group can no longer rely on its key supply route following the collapse of the Assad regime on Dec. 8, 2024, reportedly leading Iran to seek alternative means of delivering weapons and funds, including through an air corridor to Lebanon.

Hezbollah has incurred heavy losses during the war with Israel. The two parties were engaged in heavy cross-border fighting starting Oct. 8, 2023, that escalated into a full-blown war in September 2024. A US-brokered cease-fire agreement ended the hostilities on Nov. 27, 2024.

The election of Western-backed Aoun as president in January was seen as another blow to the group and to Iran’s influence in the country.

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