From the ArcaMax Publishing, News & Features Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/newsheadlines/s-642954-214481
JERUSALEM (UPI) -- A day after Israel intercepted an Iranian cargo
ship carrying arms 100 miles offshore, the vessel was permitted to
continue its journey, the army said.
Thirty-six containers of weapons were unloaded by the army at the
Israeli port of Ashdod before the ship set sail, the army said.
Israeli military officials said the Polish captain and crew knew
nothing of the containers' contents.
Thirty tons of weapons, rockets, missiles, hand grenades and
ammunition were hidden behind thousands of plastic polyethylene bags,
the army said.
The Iranian- and Russian-made arms were due to be unloaded in the
Syrian port of Latakia and from there transferred to Hezbollah in
Lebanon, the army said.
Brig. Gen. Rani Ben-Yehuda, a senior navy commander, said the shipment
was enough to supply an army for a month.
In a statement released Thursday, Hezbollah denied all links to the
weapons, Haaretz said. The group's response came a day after Syrian
Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem called the reports fabricated, the
newspaper said.
Meanwhile, Israel's Foreign Ministry invited diplomats to view the
containers at Ashdod Port Thursday.
A statement released by the ministry accused Iran of continuing to
violate U.N. security resolutions.
"Under the guise of legitimate commerce and by using ships, flags and
ports of blameless countries, Iran is turning the Mediterranean into a
base for its nefarious activities, with the aim of destabilizing
regional security," the statement said.
The ministry called on the international community to act resolutely
against Iran's efforts, saying the Islamic Republic is not only
challenging the authority of the U.N. Security Council, but mocking
the international community and its institutions as well.