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.

The location he gave was near the hilly Lebanese city of Jezzine, across the border from the Israeli town of Metula. 

Mr Gallant said that Iran “is planning to act against the citizens of Israel,” using the runway as a base. 

Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

A spokesperson for Hezbollah declined to comment on the Israeli accusations. 

At the same conference on Sunday, Mossad’s top spook David Barnea accused Iran of plotting deadly attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world. 

David Barnea said that Israel is prepared to strike perpetrators in “the heart of Tehran.”