Tehran imposes tit-for-tat ban on Lebanese planes, calls on Beirut to restore permission for Iranian flights

February 14, 2025

The Lebanese government has suspended Iranian flights to Beirut after the Israeli army claimed Tehran was smuggling clash to Hezbollah

Iran has rejected Lebanon’s request for flights to Tehran and is demanding reciprocity, after the Lebanese government blocked an Iranian flight from landing at Beirut Airport – leaving citizens stranded at Imam Khomeini International Airport City. 

The Iranian flight was blocked after the Israeli army made unsubstantiated claims that Tehran was using civilian flights to smuggle funds to Hezbollah via Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport.
“Allowing Lebanese flights to Tehran is contingent on the Lebanese authorities not preventing the reception of Iranian flights. We are holding talks to resolve the issue of banning Iranian flights to Beirut,” Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, said on 14 February. 
“We agree with the Lebanese government's request, provided that the Lebanese government does not obstruct Iranian flights. We are trying to restore flights between Iran and Lebanon to as they were before,” Amani added. 
He also said the suspension of the Iranian flight caused some in Lebanon to interpret the Lebanese government’s actions as an attempt to prevent Iranians from attending the funeral of late Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, scheduled to take place on 23 February. 
The CEO of Imam Khomeini Airport City in Tehran, Saeed Chalondari, confirmed what happened in a statement on Friday and said Lebanon has suspended Iranian flights until 18 February.
“We do not agree with this decision. If there are to be flights between the two countries, they must be on a reciprocal basis,” Chalondari stated. 
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement on Friday that “the threat by the Zionist Regime to a passenger plane carrying Lebanese citizens has disrupted normal flights to Beirut Airport.” 
On Thursday night, reports conveyed that the Lebanese embassy in Iran had received a request for two planes from Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines to land in Tehran – pending approval from the Iranian Foreign Ministry. 
Reports also said the flight to bring back the Lebanese passengers – most of who were on a religious visit – could be delayed.
The Lebanese decision to ban the Iranian flight from landing came one day after the Israeli army's Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee took to social media to claim that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been “exploiting” civilian planes to “smuggle funds allocated to arm Hezbollah with the aim of carrying out attacks against the State of Israel.”
Massive protests erupted around Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport on Thursday evening as demonstrators took to the streets to condemn the Lebanese government’s decision. 

Israel ready to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities ‘with or without’ US backing: Report

US intelligence estimates say Israel is considering attacking Iran’s nuclear sites and that the strikes could potentially occur this year 
Israel is looking to “seize the moment” to carry out an attack against Iranian nuclear facilities if diplomatic efforts with Tehran fail – and is ready to act “with or without” the backing of the US, officials told the Washington Post. 
“Israel wants to seize the moment … If Iran won’t agree to a Libya-style abandonment of its nuclear facilities, Israel is prepared to bomb those facilities – with or without US support. The Biden administration had weighed in its final days whether to support this Israeli ultimatum but decided against it. Now it’s at the top of Trump’s inbox,” the outlet cites US and Israeli officials as saying on 14 February. 
The report adds that there are several options on the table, ranging from “gunpoint diplomacy” or a “coercive ultimatum” to “active military support.” 
During their meetings last week, US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed “several possible levels of American backing, ranging from active military support for a kinetic strike – such as intelligence, refueling or other assistance – to more limited political backing for a coercive ultimatum,” according to the Washington Post.
The report adds that the US “has already provided Israel with bunker-busting munitions that could severely damage Iranian centrifuges and other uranium-enrichment equipment buried in a mountain fortress in Fordow, near Qom.” 
The Washington Post reported earlier this week that US intelligence estimates say Israel is considering strikes on the Iranian nuclear program, which could potentially come this year. 
President Trump has recently stated several times that he would prefer a nuclear deal with Iran rather than an attack on the country. 
“Everyone thinks Israel, with our help or our approval, will go in and bomb the hell out of them. I would prefer that not happen. I’d much rather see a deal with Iran where we can do a deal – supervise, check it, inspect it and then blow it up or just make sure that there is no more nuclear [facilities],” Trump told Fox News this week.
At the same time, the president has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions against the Islamic Republic. 
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on 13 February that his country will not negotiate under pressure or threats. 
“Whoever wants to negotiate with us must stop anti-Iranian policies,” he asserted. 
Trump withdrew from the 2015 US–Iranian nuclear deal in 2018 – during his first term – and restored harsh sanctions against Iran. In the summer of 2022, the US and Iran were close to reaching a deal, yet the potential agreement was thwarted by heavy Israeli pressure and the start of foreign-backed unrest and widescale protests in September of that year. 
Tehran is subject to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1970, as well as a religious fatwa outlawing the development and use of any form of weapons of mass destruction. Former CIA director William Burns said last month that “we do not see any sign” that Iran is planning to weaponize its nuclear program.
According to CNN, however, Tehran has been working to reinforce its missile program after the Israeli strikes on Iran in October last year, which came as a response to an Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israeli military sites early that month.

‘Iran will not back down’: Pezeshkian fires back at US pressure

February 13, 2025
The Iranian president affirmed that Tehran will not negotiate with Washington under sanctions 
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on 13 February that his country “will not back down” to US pressure and will not negotiate while facing hostility. 
“Iran will not submit to any threat and will not back down in the face of pressure,” adding that Iran “does not seek war with any country, but rather seeks to strengthen its friendly relations with its neighbors.”
“Whoever wants to negotiate with us must stop anti-Iranian policies,” he asserted. 
“We are not saying that we will not negotiate, but Trump cannot dictate orders to us and impose sanctions on us and then talk about negotiations … [the US] wants us to go to [negotiations] humiliated and this will not happen,” the Iranian president stated. 
“If Trump is a negotiator, why is he obstructing talks?” Pezeshkian added. “The policies of double standards have become exposed to the Iranian people, and the enemies' plots will not deter them. Iran is capable of solving many problems by relying on its local capabilities, and no one can prevent our development, as we will find solutions and continue our path.”
He went on to say that those “who are calling for negotiations today are the ones who imposed the harshest sanctions on our people,” calling for an end to Washington’s “double-edged policies.” 
Pezeshkian stressed that while Israel may be able to attack Iranian nuclear sites, it cannot prevent Tehran from rebuilding them. 
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Washington Post reported recently, citing US intelligence reports, that Israel is likely to carry out an attack on Iran’s nuclear program. 
“Israel is considering significant strikes on Iranian nuclear sites this year, aiming to take advantage of Iran’s weakness … Israel would push the Trump administration to back the strikes, viewing him as more likely to join an attack than former President Joe Biden,” WSJ cited people familiar with the intelligence.
US President Donald Trump has recently stated several times that he would prefer a nuclear deal with Iran rather than an attack on the country. 
At the same time, however, the president has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions against the Islamic Republic. 
“They don’t want to die. Nobody wants to die. If we made the deal, Israel wouldn’t bomb them,” the US president said this week.
Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran during his first term and reimposed harsh sanctions against it. In the summer of 2022, the US and Iran were close to reaching a deal, yet the potential agreement was thwarted by heavy Israeli pressure and the start of foreign-backed unrest and widescale protests in September of that year. 
“If the US were sincere about negotiations, why did they sanction us?” Pezeshkian said on 10 February during a speech to mark the 46th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, adding that Iran “does not seek war ... but will not yield to foreign pressure.”