U.S. scrutiny of Iranian activity in Lebanon has raised suspicions that the identities and documents of deceased Lebanese citizens may have been used to provide Iranian operatives, including individuals linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with Lebanese identities, according to diplomatic and security sources.

A diplomatic source told Nidaa Al-Watan that Washington had tracked the movement of Iranian Revolutionary Guard personnel inside Lebanon and that reviews conducted by U.S. agencies raised suspicions over the use of documents belonging to deceased Lebanese citizens.

The documents were allegedly used to obtain Lebanese identities and travel papers that allowed Iranian personnel to enter Lebanon and move around the country without using their real names.

The information follows reports attributed to a U.S. intelligence source concerning scrutiny of Iranians carrying Lebanese documents through Beirut airport and land border crossings.

According to information obtained exclusively by Nidaa Al-Watan, the investigation extended beyond the process of issuing passports and focused on the documents and civil records used to establish an applicant’s identity.

The scrutiny reached civil status registries in a number of towns in southern Lebanon, where suspicions reportedly emerged over the failure to officially register the deaths of some Hezbollah members killed during different periods of fighting since the 1980s.

Their names and identities consequently remained active in official state records.

The concern, according to the information, is that an identity belonging to a deceased person could be used as the basis for obtaining official documents for someone else.

Investigators have been examining whether some of these records were used to provide Iranian nationals, including individuals linked to the Revolutionary Guard, with Lebanese identities that facilitated their entry, movement and residence in the country.

From the civil registry to the passport

Security sources said any serious investigation would have to follow the entire administrative chain rather than focus solely on the passport itself.

That chain begins with the civil registry record and official extracts issued from it, followed by the documents used to establish an individual’s identity and, ultimately, the authority responsible for issuing the travel document.

Any evidence of manipulation at any stage would raise questions about the extent of the network that provided the documents and administrative cover, and whether such cases were isolated or part of an organized system that had operated for years, the sources said.

The information also places renewed attention on the role of local mukhtars, who are involved in issuing and certifying documents used in Lebanon’s civil administration.

According to the report, suspicions have fallen on mukhtars considered close to Hezbollah in several southern towns.

The issue may also explain Hezbollah’s strong political interest in securing victories for mukhtars it supports in villages dominated by the Shiite political alliance, with particular emphasis placed on winning mukhtar elections.

U.S. concerns over General Security

The diplomatic source also said Washington had reservations about certain members of Lebanon’s General Security Directorate amid suspicions that Hezbollah had received facilitation at Beirut airport and the port.

The source also cited suspicions related to the possible issuance of Lebanese passports to Iranian personnel.

The allegations have renewed scrutiny of the period when Major General Abbas Ibrahim headed Lebanon’s General Security Directorate from 2011 until 2023.

General Security plays a central role in Lebanon’s system for passports, residency permits, travel documents and matters involving foreign nationals.

The issue has also coincided with a decision by General Security to permanently stop accepting non-biometric Lebanese passports issued under the 2003 model and bearing serial numbers beginning with “RL.”

Beginning Oct. 1, 2026, holders of those passports will no longer be permitted to leave Lebanon using them.

A large number of the passports were issued during Ibrahim’s tenure, including during the country’s economic crisis.

General Security has officially said the decision was linked to the international adoption of biometric travel documents, the refusal of several countries to accept older passports and compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization standards.

Security sources, however, said they could not rule out the possibility that the move was also influenced by Western reports concerning alleged irregularities within the General Security Directorate and suspicions related to Iranian nationals.

No official link has been established between the decision and U.S. investigations.

Iran’s presence back in focus

The identity allegations have emerged alongside renewed questions over Iran’s direct military presence in Lebanon.

Informed sources said previous security information had indicated that Iranian officers were present in Lebanon during the war, with some allegedly involved in coordination, operational planning and providing support to Hezbollah.

More recent reports have also pointed to the presence of Revolutionary Guard personnel alongside Hezbollah fighters in the Ali al-Taher area in southern Lebanon, reviving questions about the scale of Iran’s direct involvement on Lebanese territory.

The significance of the identity investigation, according to the sources, goes beyond determining how individual Iranian nationals may have entered Lebanon.

The broader question is whether a parallel system was able for years to exploit weaknesses in civil status records, official documents and border procedures to facilitate the movement of foreign personnel under Lebanese identities.