On Monday Lebanon conducted a tour for ambassadors and journalists at Beirut Airport, a day after the British newspaper The Telegraph reported that Hezbollah is storing a stockpile of weapons there, supplied by Iran.
However, Saudi network Al-Hadath reported that the tour was cut short after journalists were denied access to the air cargo center.
The tour included ambassadors from France, the European Union, Egypt, Iraq, Iran and India, accompanied by Lebanese government ministers, including the Minister of Information, the Minister of Transportation, and the airport's director.
Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Al-Makary stated before the tour: "Beirut Airport is a public facility for all Lebanese. It is the face of Lebanon. We are on the brink of summer, and the intentions behind the Telegraph article are very clear." Al-Makary added: "It is impossible for Hezbollah to store missiles in a place where ambassadors from around the world enter. This article is absurd, but we fear this issue could negatively impact the season and the lives of the Lebanese people. I believe this is psychological warfare."
According to Al-Hadath, airport security then prevented journalists from entering the air cargo center. "The media stopped covering the tour, and the Minister of Transportation ended it," according to the report.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese government continued to threaten legal action against The Telegraph.
"We have moved from Israeli aerial violations to psychological warfare through false reports. The airport meets all international standards. State facilities, including the airport, are open for ambassadors to visit. This distorts the image of the airport. We are considering legal measures," Lebanon’s Minister of Labor and Transportation, Ali Hamie, said in a statement.
"We call on the government to reexamine the issue of operating Al-Qulayaat Airport (in the north of the country). We confirm that traffic at Beirut Airport is normal, and we expect psychological warfare from Israel after it lost the tourist season due to the war in Gaza," Lebanese Tourism Minister Walid Nassar said.