Syria says seized Hezbollah-bound arms on Iraq border

Syrian authorities have foiled an attempt to smuggle a shipment of advanced weapons and missiles through the Iraqi-Syrian border, the Syrian interior ministry has announced.

The ministry added that “investigations confirmed that the shipment was intended to pass through Syria to Hezbollah.”

Sources told Al-Arabiya television that the shipment contained "missiles, 150 booby-trapped drones, shells, and explosives" that were "skillfully hidden in oil tankers headed from Iraq to Syria's Banias oil refinery."

Syrian authorities are hostile to Hezbollah, which was an ally of former president Bashar al-Assad before he was ousted in 2024.

They have previously announced several other seizures of weapons they say were bound for the Iran-backed group, but Thursday's announcement is the first involving the border with Iraq.

It comes after U.S. President Donald Trump floated the idea of Syria intervening in Lebanon against Hezbollah.

Since an Islamist coalition took power in Syria in 2024, the authorities claim they have dismantled several Hezbollah-linked cells preparing attacks in Syria, but Hezbollah has repeatedly denied the accusation.

The group has been weakened by the war it has waged against Israel since March in support of Iran.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said he has no interest in intervening militarily in Lebanon despite Trump's suggestions.