Lebanese security agencies have tightened checks at the country’s airports and land crossings after receiving information about attempts to bring members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps into Lebanon using genuine Lebanese passports issued in the names of deceased citizens, according to senior Lebanese security sources.

The sources told Erem News that the suspected operation involves passports carrying authentic personal details belonging to people who have died but photographs of the individuals actually using the documents.

The heightened measures come amid security concerns over alleged Iranian efforts to reinforce its presence in southern Lebanon, particularly around the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge, with fighters, military technicians and other personnel.

The allegations come against the backdrop of a broader investigation into Lebanese passports reportedly obtained and used under false identities. Separate reporting in recent months has also described cases in which Iranian operatives killed in Lebanon were found carrying authentic Lebanese travel documents issued under other names. 

According to the Lebanese sources, the suspected passports do not necessarily qualify as conventional forgeries.

The documents may contain genuine names, passport numbers and other personal information officially recorded in Lebanon's civil registry. The alleged manipulation instead concerns the identity of the person carrying the passport and the photograph attached to it.

That distinction makes the suspected scheme particularly difficult to detect, the sources said.

Investigators are examining allegations that Hezbollah, during earlier periods, used the personal details and official documents of deceased Lebanese citizens, allegedly taking advantage of relationships with employees involved in issuing government documents.

The suspected practices included reusing documents belonging to deceased Lebanese nationals and reproducing documents associated with Hezbollah members killed in explosions or clashes whose deaths had not been widely publicized, before allegedly putting those documents into the hands of other individuals.

The investigation is seeking to establish how the documents were issued or modified, who was involved and how extensively the system may have been used over the years.

Previous reporting has also pointed to suspected passport networks operating within or around Lebanon's General Security apparatus, including cases involving genuine official documents issued under false identities. 

A Lebanese security source said authorities have raised the level of scrutiny at airports and land crossings to identify people suspected of links to the IRGC.

The measures are based partly on information received through security cooperation with other countries, including names and data associated with Lebanese passports suspected of being used by Iranian personnel.

Particular attention is being paid to some passengers arriving on Lebanese passports from Iraq, West Africa and South America, which security officials regard as possible transit points for individuals linked to the Revolutionary Guards before they reach Lebanon.

Authorities are not relying solely on a comparison between the passport photograph and the person presenting the document, the source said. Checks also include travel histories, the origin of the journey, previous destinations and civil-registry records associated with the identity being used.

The measures are also consistent with a broader effort by Lebanese authorities to prevent Iranian military or security personnel from operating inside the country. In March, the Lebanese government ordered security agencies to identify IRGC members in Lebanon, arrest them and prepare them for deportation, while also reinstating visa requirements for Iranian nationals.

Lebanese security sources say they have information indicating that Iranian personnel, including commanders, combatants and military specialists, have been operating at different levels in the south.

Some of the reported activity is linked to a command center around the Ali al-Taher ridge, according to the sources.

They said Tehran was also seeking to reinforce other positions in southern Lebanon with additional personnel and expertise following losses suffered by Hezbollah in Israeli strikes in recent months.

Reports of an Iranian presence around Ali al-Taher have emerged previously. One account cited a senior Israeli security source as saying that Iranian officers were playing roles in managing and coordinating operations in the area.

Lebanese authorities are concerned that the arrival of additional Iranian personnel or the expansion of military infrastructure could further escalate tensions and contribute to a renewed confrontation in the south.

A Lebanese source familiar with the investigation said the case raises broader questions about whether a “systematic” operation was carried out over a number of years, potentially involving public employees or individuals with influence inside state institutions.

The alleged objective would have been to gain access to personal information and official documents belonging to other Lebanese citizens.

The source said suspicions surrounding the use of deceased citizens' identities date back to a period when Hezbollah had significant influence within state institutions and facilities, including Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport and some land crossings.

The investigation is therefore looking beyond individual passports to determine whether travel documents were issued or altered for people other than their legitimate holders and whether they were subsequently used for security or military purposes, including activities connected to weapons transfers.

The source said such practices would be more difficult to repeat today because the balance of influence within state institutions has changed and security authorities have tightened procedures involving matters linked to Hezbollah.

Lebanese political researcher Qassem Youssef said the allegations were not entirely new to security agencies.

He pointed to previous cases involving individuals targeted by Israel in Lebanon who were carrying Lebanese travel documents and were subsequently reported to have links to senior positions within the IRGC.

Some of the passports under investigation cannot simply be classified as completely forged, Youssef said, because they were originally issued by Lebanese authorities and contain the details of people who genuinely appear in official civil records.

The problem, he said, is that the documents may have been used by someone other than the person whose identity appears on them.

The passport number, name, parents' names, date and place of birth and other details may all correspond to genuine government records, while the alleged alteration is limited to the photograph and the actual identity of the bearer.

That would make the documents significantly harder to detect than conventional counterfeit passports because they rely on authentic data and documents that exist within official government databases.

Youssef said uncovering the suspected network could prompt Lebanese authorities to expand their investigation into other cases in which state institutions may have been exploited in previous years.