Israeli Navy Intercepts Iranian Weapons Ship

(November 3, 2009)

On November 3, 2009, a special Israeli naval force detained and boarded a merchant ship carrying the flag of Antigua about 100 miles west of the coast of Israel. The Francop cargo ship was carrying a significant amount of weapons disguised as civilian cargo and was directed to the Ashdod port for further searches on board and a detailed inspection of the cargo.

On November 5, 2009, the IDF finished removing the weaponry from the ship and released a report detailing the final weight of the cache as 320 tons. The weaponry aboard included 9,000 mortar shells, thousands of 107-mm. Katyusha rockets that have a range of 15 kilometers, some 600 Russian-made 122-mm. rockets with a 40-km. range and hundreds of thousands of Kalashnikov bullets. The weapons found onboard the ship originate from Iran, and were intended for the Hizballah terror organization, for use against the State of Israel and its citizens. The weapons uncovered constitute a harsh violation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1747 and 1701 that strictly forbid Iran from exporting or trading any form of weapons.

Defense officials also criticized Egypt for failing to properly inspect the Iranian containers as specifically required of all Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) by UN Security Council Resolution 1803.

Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem Post

Photo courtesy of the IDF Spokesperson.