20.12.2010
Global Iranian Arms Smuggling to Terrorist Groups Detailed by WikiLeaks
http://www.realite-eu.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=9dJBLLNkGiF&b=2315291&ct=8978805
In December 2010, Western nations charged Iran uses "complex and complicated" methods to trade in arms and explosives, in order to bypass EU and UN sanctions. Martin Briens, France's Deputy Ambassador to the UN, said Iran was behind "a considerable flow of arms and other dangerous material" and that "worrying new routes" for shipments were found in Africa. [1]
In October 2010, Nigerian agents in Lagos seized 13 containers of weapons originally loaded at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas and reportedly destined for The Gambia.
US government cables released by WikiLeaks revealed that Egypt, fearing both Iran's influence in the region and an Iranian nuclear bomb, told US officials Iran was trying to "recruit Bedouin in the Sinai Peninsula to smuggle arms into the blockaded Gaza Strip". The WikiLeaks cable reported that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak thinks "the Iranian nuclear program is a strategic and existential threat to Egypt and the region". What seized Mubarak's "immediate attention are Iran's non-nuclear destabilizing actions such as support for Hamas, media attacks, weapons and illicit funds smuggling, all of which add up in his mind to 'Iranian influence spreading like a cancer from the GCC to Morocco'". [2]
Other documents released by WikiLeaks report that Iran used ambulances to smuggle weapons into Lebanon during Hezbollah's war with Israel in 2006. Other cables reveal that Iran has "far more advanced missiles than the US had previously supposed it had" in its arsenal. [3]
Iran is using multiple countries and front companies to assemble its weapons arsenal. According to WikiLeaks, Turkish firms "may sign a contract to export military materiel to Iran" including bullets, grenade launchers and magazines for assault rifles. [4]
Iran successfully tested a newly developed air defense missile system during the Islamic Republic's biggest ever air defense drill in November. [5] Earlier, in March 2010, Iran's Defense Minister, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, announced a new production line of short-range cruise missiles, capable of evading radar. He said: "The Nasr-1 missile is able to destroy 3000-ton targets." [6]
Iran's arsenal consists of a variety of artillery rockets, including the Shahin, Oghab, Fajr, Naze'at and Zelzal. Iran produces a number of rockets using components originating in China and Russian, including the Haseb, Noor and Arash rockets and is currently constructing medium range (up to 1000km) ballistic missiles. [7]
WikiLeaks: Iran's Support for Terrorist Organizations
WikiLeaks cables revealed that Iran had supplied Scud-D missiles to Hezbollah. [8]
The newly published cables revealed that Syria also was providing Hezbollah with weapons. US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said: "We are aware […] of current Syrian efforts to supply Hezbollah with ballistic missiles." Syria denied the allegations but the Pentagon detailed that Hezbollah had amassed up to 50,000 rockets and missiles. [9]
According to reports, Hezbollah is rearming in Southern Lebanon, smuggling rockets and weapons from Syria and its other backers into the region. [10] UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah, banned all unauthorized weapons between the Litani River and the Blue Line, the UN-monitored border between Israel and Lebanon. [11] This arms embargo was never enforced by the UN monitors along the border between Lebanon and Syria. [12] According to Western officials and Hezbollah itself, the Shiite Muslim organization has rearmed and is stronger than it was before the conflict with Israel. [13]
Iran views Hezbollah "as an essential partner for advancing its regional policy objectives," the Pentagon recently reported. [14] Lebanon receives US military and economic aid, intended largely to strengthen the Lebanese armed forces and to weaken Hezbollah's influence. [15] In January 2010, President Suleiman described Lebanese-Iranian relations as "good on all aspects". [16]
In the WikiLeaks documents, Jordanians refer to Iran as "an octopus whose tentacles reach out insidiously to manipulate, foment and undermine the best laid plans of the West and regional moderates: Iran's tentacles include its allies Qatar and Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Palestinian territories, an Iraqi government sometimes seen as supplicant to Tehran, and Shi'ite communities throughout the region." [17]
WikiLeaks also revealed that two years ago the Saudis proposed creating an Arab force backed by the US and NATO to intervene in Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah. Though the plan was never enacted it demonstrates the "anxiety of Saudi Arabia – as well as the US – about growing Iranian influence in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East". [18]
The cables also expose how the US State Department warned Sudan in 2009 "not to allow the delivery of unspecified arms that were expected to be passed to Hamas in the Gaza Strip" at the time of Israel's Operation Cast Lead. [19]
References:
[1] "West raises fears over Iran arms smuggling," Agence France Presse, December 10, 2010, http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101210/wl_mideast_afp/irannuclearpoliticsun_20101210185059
[2] "WikiLeaks: Iran tried to recruit Sinai Bedouin to smuggle arms into Gaza," Reuters, December 16, 2010, http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/wikileaks-iran-tried-to-recruit-sinai-bedouin-to-smuggle-arms-into-gaza-1.330983
[3] "WikiLeaks: Red Crescent smuggled weapons for Iran," YnetNews, November 29, 2010, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3991099,00.html
[4] Shachtman, Noah: "WikiLeaks Reveals Iran's Secret, Worldwide Arms Hunt," Wired.com, November 28, 2010, http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/11/wikileaks-reveals-irans-secret-worldwide-arms-hunt/
[5] Dareini, Ali Akbar: "Iran says it tested new air defense missile system," Associated Press, November 18, 2010, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40257437/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/
[6] "Iran starts production of short-range missiles," Arab News, March 7, 2010, http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article26945.ece
[7] "Iranian Artillery Rockets," GlobalSecurity.org, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/mrl-iran.htm
[8] "WikiLeaks: U.S. secretly blocking Syria and Iran arms flow, with help from Israel," Haaretz, December 7, 2010, http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/wikileaks-u-s-secretly-blocking-syria-and-iran-arms-flow-with-help-from-israel-1.329306?localLinksEnabled=false
[9] Ibid.
[10] Davies, Wyre: "De-mining volatile Israeli-Lebanese frontier," BBC Online, September 10, 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11250434
[11] "Lebanon, Iran to coordinate in UN Security Council: Lebanese president," Xinhua, January 17, 2010, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/17/content_12822627.htm
[12] "Sleiman in talks on strengthening relations with Iran," The Daily Star, March 24, 2010, http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=113093#axzz0mJF7RLqg
[13] "Lebanon receives "messages of support" from Iran, Syria," Trend.az, March 23, 2010, http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/1658158.html
[14] Gienger, Viola: "Iran Gives Weapons to Re-Arm Hezbollah, Pentagon Says," Bloomberg, April 20, 2010, http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-20/iran-gives-weapons-funds-to-help-lebanese-hezbollah-re-arm.html
[15] Schneider, Howard: "Hariri's struggles in Lebanon show limits of U.S. influence," The Washington Post, January 11, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/10/AR2010011002516.html
[16] "Lebanon, Iran to coordinate in UN Security Council: Lebanese president," Xinhua, January 17, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/10/AR2010011002516.html
[17] Keinon, Herb: "Diplomacy: The WikiLeaks torrent," The Jerusalem Post, December 3, 2010, http://www.jpost.com/Features/FrontLines/Article.aspx?id=197839
[18] MacAskill. Ewen: "WikiLeaks cables: Saudis proposed Arab force to invade Lebanon," The Guardian, December 7, 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/07/wikileaks-saudi-arab-invasion-lebanon
[19] Black, Ian: "WikiLeaks cables: Sudan warned to block Iranian arms bound for Gaza," The Guardian, December 6, 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/06/wikileaks-sudan-iranian-arms-gaza
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