Israel Navy Seizes Iranian Arms Shipment
March 15, 2011 14:08 by Pesach BensonIsraeli naval commandos intercepted a boat carrying Iranian weapons bound for Gaza.
According to the IDF Spokesperson blog, the “Victoria” left the Syrian port of Latakia for Turkey, and was en route to the Egyptian port of Alexandria when Israel seized the boat in international waters. The German-owned boat, which was flying a Liberian flag is now being taken to Ashdod.
You know, it wasn’t so long ago when Iran said its Syria-bound warships carry a message of peace after crossing the Suez canal.
That wasn’t all they apparently carried . . .
UPDATE 2:55 pm: Just had a phone briefing with Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich from the IDF’s Spokesperson’s Dept. The story’s still developing, but the main tidbits she mentioned:
- Israel doesn’t believe Egypt or Turkey knew about the smuggling. This is about Iran and Syria working together to smuggle weapons to Hamas.
- There’s no information yet that the weapons arrived on the two Iranian naval ships which passed through the Suez canal, but the IDF brass isn’t ruling out the possibility.
- The commandos opened a few containers, found weapons, then proceeded to take the boat to Israel.
- Stay tuned for more info after the army unloads the weapons and takes stock of the cache.
UPDATE 3:35 pm: Lest we forget, this isn’t the first time Iran was caught trying to smuggle weapons to Gaza.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted background info. Read up on The Santorini, Karine-A, Abu-Hasan, The Monchegorsk, Hansa India, Francop, and two overland smuggling attempts.
UPDATE 8 pm: The IDF has released video footage showing the Israeli Navy requesting the crew of the Victoria to allow it to be boarded.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvXZHdMr24E[/youtube]
The crew complied, and the ship was boarded by the Israeli Navy without incident.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS2iqwAMaVA[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u99qJmuP-jw[/youtube]
Photos of the weapons found on board can be seen here at the IDF’s Flickr page.
Israelische Marine beschlagnahmt iranische Waffenlieferung « Medien BackSpin
4:31 pm
Mar 15, 2011
[...] HonestReporting Media BackSpin, 15. März 2011 [...]
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Les armes saisies sur le navire arraisonné ce matin par Tsahal proviennent-elles des deux navires iraniens passés par Suez? « Leblogdenoach
5:05 pm
Mar 15, 2011
[...] http://honestreporting.com/israel-navy-seizes-iranian-arms-shipment/ [...]
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Cliff Ross
10:56 pm
Mar 15, 2011
Sink boats running the blockade or carrying arms. When the owners see the ships on the ocean floor, the traffic will stop.
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rodney allsworth
5:43 am
Mar 16, 2011
it must rally piss the iranians off somthing awful when the isrealies do this type of thing, they were right at the start, they were denied being right by the egyptians and the americians, and now niether of those 2 have the balls to fess up, the only way isreal can have any semblance of security and order is to trust no one and think and act for themselves.
rod qld aust
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Tony
10:32 am
Mar 16, 2011
What really gets to me is the fact that the International Comm Remains Silent,,This ship, caught with Iranian Arms ,Is a serious Matter, and the fact that It was frieghted by The French, is even more disturbing,,, The French need to answer for this.
I know at the moment there are Lots of Tragedies Happening all over the world, Japan Lybia Egypt Bahrein, But This Arms Cache should be taken very seriously. Iran and Syria are Fueling the flames ,hoping yet for another Israeli” Muscled” intervention ,so that once again We get World Outrage against Israel.
Iran and Syria should be Held responsable for this shipment,and explain before the UN” not that the UN cares”,The Boat in question should be Confiscated,, once all the weapons are accounted for,, then reloaded onto the boat sent out to sea, and Blasted to smitherens,and sunk to the depths of the ocean,before the eyes of the world,,,,as a future lesson to all who dare Treat Israel with such DISRESPECT;
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Dr. Emanuel Sphardi Lombard
12:11 am
Mar 17, 2011
It might prove helpful for Israel to research and publish well in advance what its options and justifications may be for the handling of similar future episodes. Perhaps that way our culture of sound bytes may be penetrated. It should be something like a multiple choice test: is it (a), (b), or (c)? I do hope that the research will prove that sinking an offending vessel is justified.
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Mark Filstein
1:29 am
Mar 17, 2011
I wish Israelis would load the ship with explosives and let it sail to Gaza and then detonate it once it reached it’s final destination.
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Syria Comment » Archives » Demonstrations in Damascus Challenge Regime
2:52 pm
Mar 18, 2011
[...] Israel Navy Seizes Iranian Arms Shipment, Honest reporting, 2011-03-15 Israel Navy Seizes Iranian Arms Shipment March 15, 2011 14:08 by Pesach Benson Israeli naval commandos intercepted a boat carrying Iranian weapons bound for Gaza. According to the IDF Spokesperson blog, the “Victoria” left the Syrian port of … Netanyahu Says Weapons Found on Captured Ship Came From Iran….. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that weapons found on a ship that the navy stopped 200 miles from Israel’s coast came from Iran, which he said was trying to arm the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu said that the ship was stopped according to international law. The prime minister’s statement was sent to journalists by text message. [...]
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» Stories the Media Missed Freedom Alert!: Defending American Freedom by exposing Radical Islam, Socialist, Liberals, and all the Enemies of Freedom, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness!
4:48 pm
Mar 27, 2011
[...] March 15, the Israeli Navy seized an Iranian arms shipment bound for Gazan terror groups. Despite the evidence of some 50 tonnes of weapons presented to the [...]
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