Turkey informs UN Security Council it seized illegal Iran arms shipment

[News_Editor]

Turkey informs UN Security Council it seized illegal Iran arms shipment

2011-04-01 22:00:37 GMT+7 (ICT)

ANKARA, TURKEY (BNO NEWS) -- Turkey on Friday informed the United Nations Security Council that it seized an illegal weapons shipment from Iran that intended to reach Syria, the Sabah newspaper reported.

The Turkish government said that the weapons cache was being illegally exported to Syria in breach of a UN arms embargo. The illegal cargo was discovered on March 21 and may result in further financial sanctions against Iranian institutions.

Turkey delivered a report to the Security Council's Iran sanctions committee which oversees the compliance with the four rounds of sanctions imposed over the Islamic country by the 15-member body.

On March 21, an Iranian airplane was forced to land in the southern province of Diyarbakir. A subsequent search on the aircraft registered with the Iranian YAS Aviation resulted in the seizure of a weapons cache.

Inside the plane bound for Aleppo, Syria, authorities located 60 Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles, 14 BKC/Bixi machine guns, nearly 8,000 rounds of BKC/AK-47 ammunition, 560 60-mm mortar shells, and 1,288 120-mm mortar shells.

"The crew were detained and interrogated by the Diyarbakir officials," the report said. "They denied any knowledge about the prohibited items on board, as well as the identity of the individual or individuals responsible for the attempted illegal export."

The crew and the plane were released and allowed to return to their native country but the illegal cargo was not returned. The U.S. and Israel suspect Iran uses Syria as a for weapons transfers to militant groups in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has denied these allegations and has labeled the sanctions as biased and unfair. The UN-backed sanctions prohibit Iran from exporting weapons and engage in actions related to uranium enrichment.

In early March, Turkish fighter jets forced a plane to land at Diyarbakır airport after it was believed the aircraft was transporting weapons from Iran to Syria. However, no weapons or other illegal goods were found inside the aircraft and it was allowed to leave.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-04-01

[Steely Dan]

Am I being too cynical to conclude this arms shipment was perhaps meant to be found. If the Iranians really wanted to make sure something got through to Syria they could simply load it on one of their navy vessels.

I'm sure that Iran will receive lukewarm condemnation over this and it evidently is not worried by sanctions so perhaps it's trying to encourage Israel to board another ship in international waters because we all know the shit storm that follows when they do that.

[geriatrickid]

well, another explanation is that Turkey is a member of NATO and had the shipment not been stopped after being identified by other NATO member countries, Turkey would have been in trouble. These shipments have transited Turkey airspace before and the Turks haven't done much until they were given an ultimatum by NATO to do something.

As well, this a chance for the Turkish secular military to send a message to the muslim fundamentalist President that the Turkish military aint so keen on cozying up to the mullahs and ayotollehs in Iran

Edited April 2, 2011 by geriatrickid

[Steely Dan]

According to wikileaks the Turkish military can scarcely disguise their contempt for Erdogan, and frankly I can see why with his fostering ties with the theocratic lunatics in Iran whilst being intransignent with Nato and downright provocative towards Israel.

Turkey and Iran do have something in common though, which is a relatively well informed and potentially secular populace if you got rid of the Mad Mullahs I think Iran would cease to be a problem almost overnight and many other middle east problems would diminish too. All the more reason not to become embroiled in Libya.

[slapout]

Another missed opportunity to hit those who are transporting the arms where it rankles them, (in the pocketbook). Take the arms OK, but add the demand for payment for the cost of finding the shipment, handling it, disposal, and finally for good measure, the crew and mode of transport taking up space on foreign soil. Some imaginative bean counter should be able to figure an amount for the latter that would put second thoughts into the circle of participants.

[kuffki]

Another missed opportunity to hit those who are transporting the arms where it rankles them, (in the pocketbook). Take the arms OK, but add the demand for payment for the cost of finding the shipment, handling it, disposal, and finally for good measure, the crew and mode of transport taking up space on foreign soil. Some imaginative bean counter should be able to figure an amount for the latter that would put second thoughts into the circle of participants.

Sounds correct in theory, however in practice is little impossible, since Iran denies any knowledge or involvement, so does Syria.

The good point about the operation is that the arms did not reach its destination, the bad is how many have reached in the past and another fact, Iran never stopped arming terrorists and is one if not the major cause for the trouble in the region.

before Iraq war, both countries were busy fighting each other, when now, the "winner" is causing more trouble then ever

[coma]

Am I being too cynical to conclude this arms shipment was perhaps meant to be found. If the Iranians really wanted to make sure something got through to Syria they could simply load it on one of their navy vessels.

I'm sure that Iran will receive lukewarm condemnation over this and it evidently is not worried by sanctions so perhaps it's trying to encourage Israel to board another ship in international waters because we all know the shit storm that follows when they do that.

You could be right. It is not exactly a prize catch so to speak.

"60 Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles, 14 BKC MG's , 8,000 rounds of 7.62mm short ammunition and not quite 2000 mortar bombs.

To the everyday punter that may seem like alot of firepower but is isn't. You would be lucky to get a good ten minutes of sustained fire on a gun/ mortar line with that ammo.