Iran has been funneling weapons to Islamic jihadists at an alarming rate over the past year, some delivered by drones, according to a new report.
The Middle East rebel regime has been smuggling weapons and missiles into the occupied West Bank to the east of Israel and Lebanon to the north, some disguised as aid packages, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The weapons have largely gone to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a group completely separate from Gaza-based Hamas, which launched the devastating terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 that left more than 1,400 dead.
“The flow of arms has really increased, specifically over the last year… This is because Iran has focused much more recently on the West Bank and has tried to arm some of the groups there,” said Michael Horowitz, head of the Air Force based in Israel. intelligence for the consulting firm Le Beck International.
The Iranian supply route passes through Iraq and Syria, then through Lebanon or Jordan (one of the United States’ strongest allies in the region) and continues to the intended destination, according to the report.
Iran is funneling weapons into the West Bank at an alarming rate, according to a new report. Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
“Iran wants to turn Jordan into a transit zone for weapons going to Israel,” Amer Al-Sabaileh, founder of Security Languages, a counterterrorism think tank in Amman, told the WSJ.
“But my fear is that the weapons could also be used in Jordan. Where is the easiest place in the Middle East to punish the United States and the West? Jordan.”
Weapons smuggled through Jordan include Iranian copies of American Claymore antipersonnel mines, M4-style assault rifles and TNT explosives, a senior Jordanian official told the outlet.
Israeli border forces, which occupy the West Bank, have also confiscated antipersonnel mines manufactured in Iran and Russia, according to a report by Terrogence, an information network that advises the Israeli police.
A group of Islamic jihadists posing with their weapons. Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
The weapons are typically transported from Syria to Jordan in trucks, which can be difficult to detect when driving off-road in the desert, the WSJ said.
Iran’s plan also uses drones: In February, Jordanian officials shot down a Syrian unmanned aerial vehicle with four hand grenades on board.
Even cheap commercial drones can carry two assault weapons at once and are difficult to catch, an unnamed Jordanian security official told the outlet.
Drones have reportedly been used to transport weapons from Iran to the West Bank. Iranian Army Office/AFP via Getty Images
“We only see drones by chance,” he admitted.
Meanwhile, the Iranian airline Mahan has been transporting weapons to Syria under the guise of aid, a Central Intelligence Agency agent and several officials told the WSJ.
“The Iranians are investing a lot of effort in inflaming all theaters, both in the north and in the West Bank,” an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said. “The IDF is strengthening its troops and is prepared for any possibility.”
“The country is flooded with weapons,” added the owner of a gun shop in the center of Amman.
In May, Jordanian lawmaker Imad al-Adwan was detained for attempting to smuggle more than 200 firearms into the West Bank, occupied by Israeli military forces, the outlet said.
He has been extradited from Israel to Jordan, where he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Meanwhile, other Jordanian officials are feeling the pressure to single-handedly quell the Middle East arms trafficking problem.
Police operating in the West Bank have been seizing more weapons in recent years.AP
“Jordan is playing a critical role in preventing narcotics and weapons smuggling,” said Mohammad Afeef, former president of Jordan’s State Security Court.
“It’s a huge burden for us.”
Parts of the West Bank are overseen by the Palestinian Authority, which opposes Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the WSJ noted.
Over the past two years, police working for the Palestinian Authority have seized between 600 and 1,000 weapons per year in the West Bank, more than double the number in 2021, the outlet said.
Concerns about the weapons cache in the West Bank have only increased since the start of Israel’s war against Hamas earlier this month.
Tensions are also very high in the occupied territory. Fifty-five people died in the week after October 7, the deadliest week for West Bank Palestinians since 2005, according to the United Nations.
Jordan is also trying to control the region in terms of arms trafficking.via REUTERS
On Friday, 13 Palestinians were killed when the Israel Defense Forces launched a 30-hour operation to clear militants from refugee camps in the region, the WSJ said.
An arms dealer in Al-Ram told the outlet that he is selling hundreds of weapons per month, mainly to people who want to defend their homes and villages in the absence of official Palestinian security.
“Nowadays there is a great demand, but I tell you, they are all very young,” he said.
As the war between Israel and Hamas appears to be gearing up for the long haul, Horowitz warned that the flow of weapons into the West Bank could perpetuate a “cycle of violence” as the IDF deploys more forces to the area.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn