The Iranian regime has significantly increased its shipments of weapons to the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah in recent months, amid diplomatic efforts by the U.S. and European countries to prevent an escalation of the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel into full-blown war.

Among the most significant weapons systems Iran recently supplied are additional anti-aircraft defense systems, which can threaten Israel's air superiority, according to Ynet News.

In recent months, the terror group has tried to shoot down Israeli aircraft numerous times, succeeding in hitting and intercepting five Israel Defense Forces drones so far. Israel in turn responded with strikes against Hezbollah's aerial defense array, taking out several of its launchers.

Iranian shipments reportedly also contain advanced Almas anti-tank missiles, an Iranian development based on the Israeli Spike missile that Hezbollah obtained during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

The missiles are long-range and very accurate due to a camera in the warhead that allows the operator to guide it in flight.

The Iranian regime is regularly supplying weapons to Hezbollah, its main military proxy in the region, through a sophisticated network of smuggling routes spanning across Iraq and Syria into Lebanon.

The IDF has struck trucks and convoys carrying these shipments numerous times over the past decade.

Meanwhile, efforts to reach a diplomatic solution continue behind the scenes, despite the talks appearing stalled after both U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited Jerusalem and Beirut in recent weeks, only to leave without tangible results.

The Times of Israel reported that U.S., European, and even Arab mediators have been sending Hezbollah warnings that it should not be overconfident it could take on Israel Defense Forces in an all-out war.

The message being transmitted to the Lebanese terror group is "don't think that you're as capable as you think you are," said Gerald Feierstein, a former senior U.S. diplomat in the Middle East.

Feierstein added that despite the fire exchanges lessening somewhat after a peak around a week ago, both sides don't seem to have decided to restrain their attacks in order to avoid a broader war.

"It certainly seems the Israelis are still ... arranging themselves in the expectation that there will be some kind of conflict ... an entirely different magnitude of conflict," he said.

The U.S. has delivered multiple warnings to Hezbollah, including a statement last week that Hezbollah shouldn't bet on the U.S. holding back Israel in the event of a potential regional war that could involve Iran.

The U.S. also bolstered its naval forces in the Eastern Mediterranean last week to prevent the ongoing armed conflict from escalating into an all-out war, which the U.S. reportedly fears could drag the whole region into it.

The U.S. moved the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp to the region this week, with an official confirming, "It's about deterrence."

Republished with permission from All Israel News.