Shafaq News/ According to Syrian, Iranian, Israeli, and Western sources, Reuters reported that Iran had used relief flights for earthquake victims to transport weapons and military equipment to Syria.

These flights aimed to support Iran's defense against Israel and strengthen Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Reuters quoted the sources confirming that the flights began in February 2022, following the earthquake in northern Syria and Turkiye, with hundreds of flights from Iran bringing supplies to Syria's Aleppo, Damascus, and Latakia airports for seven weeks.

The supplies included advanced communications equipment and radar batteries and spare parts required for a planned upgrade of Syria's air defence system.

The shipments were organized by the Unit 18000 Syrian division of the Quds Force, the foreign espionage and paramilitary arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, led by Hassan Mehdoui, with ground transportation handled by the Quds Force's Transport Unit 190 led by Bahanem Shahariri.

Reuters explained that Israel became aware of the flow of weapons into Syria and mounted an aggressive campaign to counter it, including specific intelligence to target shipments.

Israeli air strikes targeted shipments of electronic chips to upgrade weapons systems and a meeting of commanders of Iranian militias.

Israel has for years carried out attacks against what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria.