Two US warships escort Iranian ship carrying arms for Hamas out through Suez Canal

[darrels joy]

Two US warships escort Iranian ship carrying arms for Hamas out through Suez Canal

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
January 23, 2009, 6:06 PM (GMT+02:00)
US Coast Guard boarding team


DEBKAfile's military sources report that a US Navy Coast Guard team this week boarded an Iranian arms ship flying a Cypriot flag in the Red Sea and found weapons in its hold.

This was the first time an America warship had ever intercepted an Iranian vessel in international water. The incident activated the Memo of Understanding the former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice signed with Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni a week ago on actions to halt the flow of Iranian arms to Hamas as part of the Gaza ceasefire.

The Iranian ship's captain showed the US boarding team documents recording the Syrian port of Latakia as its cargo's destination. DEBKAfile reports that both US and Israeli intelligence are certain the arms were bound for Hamas. But according to international law, the US Navy's Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, set up last week to combat piracy, was not authorized to confiscate the cargo or stop the ship because no enforcement mechanism was yet in place.

After a few hours, therefore, the US force released the Iranian vessel and two warships escorted it out of Red Sea waters. The ship and its escort are due to enter the Suez Canal heading north Saturday night, Jan. 23, after being prevented from unloading its arms freight on the coast of Sinai or Gaza.

Tehran has so far not reacted to the incident.

DEBKAfile revealed last week that the new US task force policing the
waters of the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Red Sea, under the command of Rear Adm. Terry McKnight, had been additionally assigned with intercepting Iranian ships smuggling arms for Hamas, often in conjunction with Somali pirates and Sinai Bedouin militias.

Massed on the lead ship San Antonio is a helicopter detachment, a "surgical team" for dealing with small speedboats trying to hem the ship in and 14 Navy VBSS members, including two Navy boarding officers. The Coast Guard detachment is made up of eight members, all of them qualified as boarding officers.

http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5870

[darrels joy]

We posted on the news blackout concerning the Iranian ship full of arms, secret compartments, and missiles that President Bush detained and President Obama released. Seems Cyprus is not impressed with the claim that the ship is carrying its flag. They have seized it and are conducting a search:

Cyprus president Demetris Christofias said Friday, Jan. 30, that a ship being searched off Limassol is carrying a cargo that contravenes UN resolutions.


He did not identify the cargo, but Cyprus state radio reported the vessel was Russian-owned and may have been traveling from Iran to Syria with weapons destined for Hamas.
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It is now a command and control center for Hamas:

DEBKAfile's military and intelligence sources report that the aid ship Iran Shahed , which the Israel embargo of the Gaza Strip forced to stay 42 km from the coast, took delivery Monday, Jan. 26 of sophisticated communications equipment from Cyprus for maintaining contact with Hamas leaders who remain in hiding. It came with a group of maintenance engineers.

Neither Iran or Hamas have any interest in peace with Israel. This war continues in their mind and actions.
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These are 2 different ships