Lebanon airport denies Israel accusation of Hezbollah arms on commercial flights

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The head of Lebanon's international airport denied on Thursday Israeli accusations that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were using commercial airline flights to ship weapons to the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah.

Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon made the accusation in a letter to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday.

"(The news) is completely devoid of truth," Fadi al-Hassan, head of Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport said in a statement, adding he believed Israel had sent the letter to damage the reputation of Lebanon and its international airport.

Iran has also denied Israel's accusation.

Heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah, which is classified as a terrorist group by the United States, wields strong political influence in Lebanon and its powerful military wing is fighting in the Syrian conflict in support of President Bashar al Assad.

(Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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