Egypt seizes Iranian ship carrying a huge quantity of arms

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flags egypt iran 2Egyptian maritime authorities seized an Iranian ship carrying a huge quantity of weapons heading for Egypt, NOW reported on Thursday.

The ship, which was seized about ten miles away from the Ras Mohammad national park in the Sinai peninsula reportedly was carrying more than 50,000 light and medium weapons as well a huge quantity of ammunitions.

Individuals from several nationalities, including Iranians, were on board the ship, the report said

The report also noted that the Egyptian authorities were still investigating to determine the final destination of the ship and whether it was heading for Gaza or aimed at arming insurgent groups in Sinai.

This development comes days after a report last monday said that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has lifted the visa requirements for Egyptian tourists visiting the Islamic republic of Iran and days

This also comes days after flights between Tehran and Cairo resumed for the first time in 34 years.

Update: Anatolia Turkish News Agency reported the ship which is registered as an Iranian fishing vessel under the name of “Sawit 1,” was seized Wednesday night about 12 miles off the coast.

Ten people of different nationalities were on board the ship said the Turkish report, which further stated that preliminary investigations revealed the ship was sailing toward the Egyptian territory.

In the ship’s hold 62,283 firearms were found, including sniper-rifles, AK-47s, RPGs and large quantity of ammunition.

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