Documents captured from Hamas reveal Iran's complex weapons smuggling network

Iran's weapons smuggling routes to Syria, Lebanon and the West Bank were revealed by documents recently captured from Hamas, according to a new study by the Maj.-Gen. Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.

The documents revealed details on the collapse of a Hamas smuggling network in Jordan and how the terror organization and the Islamic Republic attempted to transfer weapons to the West Bank in an effort to ignite another front against Israel.

The United States, Israel, and Jordan have also taken major steps to prevent these smuggling operations, the documents revealed, alongside Russian involvement. Additionally, Russia secretly worked to limit smuggling in the Syria-Jordan-Israel border triangle.

The publication and research are based on numerous documents seized by the IDF in Gaza and analyzed by the Shin Bet and IDF Intelligence Directorate.

Until the fall of Assad’s regime, Syria served as a central smuggling route that helped Hezbollah arm itself with advanced and precise weaponry, some of which has been used in combat against Israel.

Smuggling routes to the West Bank

The smuggling routes to the West Bank relied on two main journeys. The first passed through Syria to Jordan, where the weapons were handed over to Bedouin smugglers, who then smuggled them across the Israeli border into the West Bank.

The second route began in Syria, passed through Lebanon, and the weapons were smuggled directly into Israel. "After Hezbollah began firing rockets onto Israel on October 8 of last year, the Lebanese route was partially blocked due to increased Israeli security forces along the Lebanese border,” researchers from the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center noted.

“The first section discusses the land supply lines from Iran to Syria and Lebanon, which operate through three routes,” the document detailed. 

“The first route passes through Baghdad, goes through the city of Ramadi, reaches the Al-Bukamal crossing on the Syrian-Iraqi border, then moves through Deir ez-Zor in Syria, then to Palmyra, from there to Damascus and then to Beirut. The second route starts from Tehran to Al-Basra in Iraq, then to Baghdad, and from there to the ‘Al-Tanf’ crossing on the Syrian-Iraqi border, and from there to Damascus. The third route starts from Iran to the city of Al-Muthanna in Iraq, then to Al-Hasakah in Syria, then to Adala, and from there to Latakia. This route is now inactive.

Measures to block smuggling routes

“The American and Israeli measures were varied to block these lines by US control over strategic areas near these routes, or by imposing US sanctions on groups and individuals involved, and even carrying out airstrikes to disrupt these lines,” the document states. Drugs were also being transferred through the smuggling routes alongside weapons.

“There are two supply lines through which drugs are also smuggled: the first started in the Shebaa Farms in southern Lebanon, from there to the Beit Jan area in Syria, then to Khan Arnabeh, from there to the village of Jassim, and then to the village of Nawa in southern Syria. It then moves to Daraa on the Syrian-Jordanian border and into Jordan.

"The second route starts at the land border between Iraq and Jordan to smuggle weapons and money into the latter and then into the West Bank.”

The seized documents revealed the new smuggling methods developed by Iran: “Innovative ‘methods’ were used to circumvent border security measures at the Syria-Jordan and Iraq-Syria borders, such as drones used to transport weapons and drugs, the utilization of old oil pipelines connecting Jordan to Iraq, and employing refugees to work at the Syria-Iraq border.”

What has Jordan done?

The research also revealed that Jordan has been acting strongly to disrupt smuggling operations in its territory: “Jordan has an extensive network of families involved in smuggling. The two main families are the Al-Saeed and Al-Ramthan families, with Mohammad Al-Ramthan being the key figure in this process, as he is the brother of Marai Al-Ramthan, who was killed in a Jordanian airstrike in May 2023. Meanwhile, the Fourth Armored Division of the Syrian Army, commanded by Maher al-Assad (the brother of the ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad), assisted in the operations through Hezbollah,” the publication notes.

In Israel, Jordan's efficiency was positively noted, with examples of their recent activities such as their security forces "thwarting an attempt by dozens of smugglers linked to pro-Iranian militias to infiltrate from Syria with a large quantity of weapons, including rocket launchers, mines, and explosives, along with large quantities of drugs. Several Border Guard soldiers were injured in the exchange of fire, and nine of the smugglers were arrested.”

The report noted that “senior officials in the ‘Resistance Axis’ publicly acknowledged that the Syrian revolution closed the supply lines passing through Syria, though they tried to downplay the strategic impact. Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, said in a speech that due to the fall of Assad’s regime, Hezbollah lost its military supply route. He added that the ‘Resistance’ is flexible and that if the new government does not allow the transfer of weapons, alternative routes will need to be found.”

It also mentioned IRGC Commander Hossein Salami, and how he "stated that all the routes that could have been used to transfer Iranian forces to Syria were closed. He also claimed that the ‘Resistance Front’ has become independent and is no longer reliant on Iran.”

It was emphasized that “besides the disruption of Iranian arms shipments to Hezbollah, the Syrian revolution could also impact Hezbollah’s efforts to reconstruct the devastation in Lebanon caused by the conflict with Israel. ‘Observers’ noted that Hezbollah had relied on Iran for economic support and logistical aid such as raw materials and construction. But now Syrian rebels control the borders and crossings, blocking the supply route from Iran, through Iraq to Damascus.”

The authors of the report argue that “The leaders of these Iranian operations include the Special Operations Division of the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization, Division 4000, led by Javad Ghaffari, and the Special Operations Unit of the Quds Force on Syrian soil, Unit 18840, part of Unit 840 under the command of Asghar Baqeri.

“Since 2007, and especially in the last decade, Hamas has enjoyed massive Iranian military support, which has been reflected in the supply of Iranian weapons, the training of its operatives in Iran, the transfer of Iranian knowledge and capabilities through various routes to Gaza and the West Bank, as well as extensive financial support," the research concluded. "The former commander of the Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in an American strike in Iraq in January 2020, was considered the one who established the military assistance to Hamas."