U.S. Navy was secretly prepared to seize Iranian arms

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Klos-C shipThe U.S. Navy had secret orders this week to be “prepared to act” to stop a cargo ship carrying Iranian arms destined for Gaza, CNN has learned.

Navy vessels in the Middle East received orders to move “into the proximity of the ship and act if ordered,” according to a senior U.S. military official familiar with the operation.

The scenario included the possibility of boarding the ship, which was eventually stopped in the Red Sea by Israeli naval forces, who authorities said seized a cargo of Iranian rockets and missiles.

A second American official confirmed that U.S. intelligence and the Israelis became aware of the effort by Iran to smuggle the weapons several days ago.

The United States secretly tracked the shipment as it left Iran by air and then landed in Syria. The weapons were then shipped into Iraq and loaded at a port in southern Iraq.

U.S. and Israeli intelligence grew concerned when the cargo ship in the Persian Gulf suddenly diverted from its expected heading to Sudan and suddenly turned north toward Iraq to load up.

The United States does not believe the Iraqi government sanctioned the smuggling.

American navy ships in the region secretly tracked the cargo down the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea and then to the Red Sea until the Israeli navy boarded the vessel before it reached Sudan, a typical point for unloading smuggled weapons.

The Israeli military later showed video of the weapons with markings indicating they were made in Iran.

The White House hinted at the scope of the operation, but only after it concluded.

“The White House directed the Department of Defense to monitor the vessel and to develop concepts of operation for a range of options to be prepared to take unilateral steps if necessary,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke Thursday with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon to receive what the Pentagon called a “briefing” from the Israelis on the operation.

The Pentagon said in a statement both nations “have been in consistent touch on Israel’s interdiction operation, coordinating extensively through military and intelligence channels.”

The seizure showed the United States was continuing to hold Iran “accountable for its destabilizing activities in the region, even as we continue efforts to resolve our concerns over Iran’s nuclear program through diplomacy,” the statement said.

CNN

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13 responses to “U.S. Navy was secretly prepared to seize Iranian arms”

  1. man-o-war Avatar
    man-o-war

    ” the shipment as it left Iran by air and then landed in Syria. The weapons were then shipped into Iraq and loaded at a port in southern Iraq.” Does this sound weird to anyone else? Maybe I need to brush up on my geography.

    1. The real lebanese Avatar
      The real lebanese

      Well you can’t smuggle them all the way to Gaza without going theough Israel and you cant fly into Iraq without the shipment being inspected…

      1. man-o-war Avatar
        man-o-war

        How about drive them into Iraq to the port? I mean they fly to Syria, then they drive back into Iraq, making their way to southern Iraq.

        1. The real lebanese Avatar
          The real lebanese

          That is a good point. My guess they switched the weapons with something else that was supposed to be shipped that came from Syria but idk.

          1. man-o-war Avatar
            man-o-war

            I did read another article that said the weapons were syrian made, but this one says their Iranian weapons. Hard saying not knowing.

        2. MekensehParty Avatar
          MekensehParty

          Why drive them to an Iraqi port? Why not send them from an Iranian port?
          The answer is simple: The supplier of illegal products never send from his own postal address and needs to find indirect routes.
          Every day and as part of the “cultural exchange program” between the two countries a ton of weapons travel from Iran to Syria. The RG books say on Feb 20 we delivered 50 missiles to Assad. End of story. RG’s audit is happy, the transfer is legal based on the bilateral program.
          They get to Syria and they are unloaded by Assad loyalists. The secret is well preserved while if they were sent to Iraq straight from Iran there is more risk of being noticed. And here comes the clever part. Who’s going to suspect that an entrenched Assad, besieging and being besieged is going to ship weapons OUT of Syria. Logic says he needs every bullet sent to him. So trucks entering into Iraq from Syria do not raise red flags where trucks coming from Iran do.
          The load gets to Basra in containers ready to be shipped, are uploaded on a boat going to Sudan from where they will be smuggled in smaller shipments to Gaza.

          1. man-o-war Avatar
            man-o-war

            I disagree, trucks entering and leaving Syria raise red flags. Also, no matter what they do they’re being tracked. All that work they went through, for what? They tracked them the whole time anyway and intercepted the shipment.

          2. MekensehParty Avatar
            MekensehParty

            So? You seem to agree that there was a shipment…

          3. man-o-war Avatar
            man-o-war

            Not sure what you’re getting at, never said there wasn’t a shipment.

    2. MekensehParty Avatar
      MekensehParty

      what a naïve comment.
      If it was a shipment of corn it will follow geographic realities but when shipping missiles a more complicated route must be conceived.
      That’s why a drug dealer for instance who’s driving a load from Tijuana Mexico to LA never takes a direct route even though it’s a 4 hour drive. Instead, he/she will drive to Sonora, cross the border in some small border town into Arizona, spend the night in a town outside Phoenix, wake up, have breakfast and head to LA…

      1. man-o-war Avatar
        man-o-war

        You used a poor example, but thanks for trying. In this case, its more like they flew the drugs from Tijuana to Canada, then drove the drugs down to LA.

        1. MekensehParty Avatar
          MekensehParty

          Which also happen very often..

  2. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    People who sell to ‘gun-runners’ don’t ask where they are going, I suppose.
    Strangely, according to the ‘tracking’, seems it was ok to head for Sudan, but not for Gaza. :-)))
    I’d guess they were trying to pick up names along the way …

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