ISRAEL accused Iran on Monday of building an airport in southern Lebanon to be used as a launchpad for attacks against Israelis across the border.

Speaking at a high-profile security conference hosted by Reichman University near Tel Aviv, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant claimed that Iran has been building a runway that slices through forested mountains just 12 miles from Israel’s northern border. 

Mr Gallant displayed satellite photographs that he said showed the site, where the Iranian national flag and the flag of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group could be seen.