New documents held by Lebanese investigators in the case of the 2020 Beirut port explosion could lead to legal action against former officials, including former President Michel Aoun, over allegations that they concealed information about Hezbollah's role in bringing a shipment of ammonium nitrate into the port and storing it there, senior Lebanese security sources said.

The documents include reports submitted by customs and General Security officials to Aoun at various points, including as early as three years before the Aug. 4, 2020, blast, the sources told Erem News.

According to the sources, the reports described alleged interference by Hezbollah officials in the work of authorities at the port and pressure on officials to accept procedures carried out by members of the group concerning Warehouse 12, where the ammonium nitrate was stored. Other reports warned of the dangers posed by the material.

The disclosures came as Lebanon's Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation requested that Aoun be charged in connection with the explosion, alleging that he had known in advance that ammonium nitrate was stored at the port and was aware of the risks it posed but failed to take the necessary measures or raise the issue before the Higher Defense Council.

Financial links under investigation

A senior Lebanese security source said investigators had also received information about financial links involving Hezbollah-affiliated figures and foreign companies in earlier commercial transactions involving large quantities of ammonium nitrate.

Investigators are seeking to establish whether those transactions were connected to the shipment that arrived at Beirut port and remained stored in Warehouse 12 for more than six years, the source said.

Former officials from General Security and port security, along with officials from the Higher Council of Customs and the Ministry of Public Works, had submitted written reports and provided verbal accounts detailing the shipment and what the source described as illegal procedures that allowed it to remain in storage.

The source said Hezbollah leaders had also used their influence with General Security officials in connection with the shipment more than two years before the explosion, which devastated large parts of Beirut and was widely described in Lebanon as the country's "Hiroshima."

Lebanese security agencies cooperating with judicial authorities in the case also have files concerning alleged previous involvement by Lebanese businessmen linked to Hezbollah in the purchase of large quantities of ammonium nitrate, the source said.

Those materials were seized in Britain, Cyprus, Germany and Belgium in several cases in the five years before the Beirut explosion, according to the source.

Questions over the cause of the blast

For years, Hezbollah pushed the argument that the Beirut port explosion was caused by an Israeli attack. But the blast occurred after huge quantities of explosive material had been stored at the port, and the material could have detonated following an airstrike, a fire or an electrical short circuit.

Lebanese researcher Rabih Yassine told Erem News that the investigation had survived years of obstacles and attempts to suppress the truth for two main reasons.

First, he said, the families of the victims had pursued the case through judicial, governmental and public channels, determined to keep the investigation alive and identify those responsible. They had put pressure on various authorities and challenged what Yassine described as a "deep state" led by Hezbollah, which he said had an interest in preventing the explosion from being treated simply as an unavoidable accident.

The second factor, Yassine added, was the continued role of investigating judge Tarek Bitar, who has remained at the center of the case despite intense pressure.

Yassine said the authorities he described as the "deep state" had directly threatened Bitar after successfully forcing other judges to withdraw from the case.

No formal indictment has yet been issued, meaning responsibility cannot legally be assigned to any particular party at this stage, Yassine said.

He nevertheless said the actions of Hezbollah, the Free Patriotic Movement and their allies had raised questions, particularly over alleged obstruction of the investigation and an alleged threat made against Bitar inside his office at the Palace of Justice by Hezbollah official Wafic Safa.

Calls to move the investigation forward

Yassine said some parties had made extensive efforts to bring the case to an end while promoting the possibility that the explosion had resulted from an Israeli strike.

He said that scenario remained possible, but argued that responsibility should also be examined among those who allowed such large quantities of highly explosive material to be stored for years at a facility not intended for that purpose.

Lebanese political analyst Nayef Azar said the investigation was continuing after years of obstruction, including through the move to pursue charges against Aoun over his alleged knowledge of the ammonium nitrate.

But Azar said responsibility could extend beyond the former president.

It could include presidents and military commanders who were in positions of authority when the shipment entered Beirut port, he told Erem News, meaning that responsibility for negligence could ultimately be shared among several officials and institutions.

Azar also rejected the idea that evidence pointing to the involvement or negligence of various parties would necessarily disappear with time, saying security reports and investigations remained in existence.

Hezbollah's role remains disputed

Azar said suspicions surrounding Hezbollah's possible involvement in the explosion were partly rooted in what he described as the group's role in obstructing the investigation.

He stressed, however, that this did not constitute a final accusation against Hezbollah and that determining responsibility remained the responsibility of the judiciary.

He said Hezbollah leaders had threatened judges involved in the case, including Bitar, who was allegedly threatened by Safa inside his office at the Palace of Justice.

Azar said the continued obstruction of the investigation by Hezbollah suggested concern over the possibility of accusations being directed at the group. He added that efforts to disrupt the investigation had fueled further questions amid information circulating about the possible use of ammonium nitrate for military purposes linked to Hezbollah and for supplying the former Syrian regime.