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UAE stops arms shipment to Iran

Global Arab Network - - Adam Turner

Saturday, 29 August 2009 10:21

The United Arab Emirates has seized a ship carrying North Korean weapons to Iran, marking the first time a nation has acted on UN sanctions to stop the communist state's proliferation, a diplomat said. say.

The UAE reported the incident, which occurred two weeks ago, to the Security Council sanctions committee on North Korea, diplomats said on Friday.

The committee sent letters to Tehran and Pyongyang on August 25 informing them of the seizure and demanding a response within 15 days.

The weapons seized on August 14 included rocket launchers, detonators, munitions and ammunition for rocket-propelled grenades, it said.

The ship, called the ANL-Australia, was Australian-owned and flying a Bahamas flag.

"Based on past experience ... we don't expect a very detailed response," one of the diplomats said on condition of anonymity.

The diplomats said the Australian firm whose ship was seized is controlled by a French conglomerate and the actual export was arranged by the Shanghai office of an Italian company.

The diplomats did not name any of the firms involved.

"The cargo was deceptively labelled," said a diplomat "The cargo manifest said that the ship contained oil boring machines. But then you opened it up and you found these arms."

Jim Walsh, an international security expert with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's security studies programme, said the UAE's move was unusual given its ties with Iran.

Diplomats said both North Korea and Iran appeared to be in breach of Security Council resolution 1874, which banned all arms exports from North Korea and authorised states to search suspicious ships and seize and destroy banned items.

The resolution was imposed after North Korea's second nuclear test in May.

North Korea claims that it has every right to sell arms for its own profit. Iran claims it has the right to buy what it wants because it’s a sovereign nation. The problem with this is the two countries have acted irresponsibly in the past and are a threat to our national and global security.

The North Korea Iran weapons shipment seized by the UAE is not the only incident that has taken place in recent weeks. The AP is reporting that India seized another North Korean ship between The Bay of Bengal and Myanmar and is currently inspecting its contents. (AFP, AP)

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