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The Iranian vessel seized by Israel.
 (Ilan Assayag)
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Last update - 06:51 11/11/2009
U.S. accuses Iran of arms shipments to Hezbollah
By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent, and News Agencies

The United States accused Iran on Tuesday of illicit arms deliveries to Hezbollah guerrillas, during a session of the United Nations Security Council, endorsing charges by Israel following its seizure of a ship in the Mediterranean last week.

The Antigua-flagged ship, which was commandeered and later released by Israeli forces, was found to be carrying hundreds of tons of weapons disguised as civilian cargo.

Britain also raised concerns over the arms shipment, which Israel argued contained Iranian-supplied arms intended to be sent via Syria to the Shi'ite Hezbollah group that has fought Israel.
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Syria's UN ambassador dismissed the Israeli charges as an "outrageous concoction of lies" and accused the Jewish state of an act of piracy in seizing the Francop. Syria and Iran, neither of which currently holds a seat on the council, had already denied the allegations.

UN diplomats said no immediate action on the matter was expected from the full council, but that it would likely be referred to a council committee charged with monitoring compliance with a council resolution that bans Iranian arms exports.

Israel filed a formal complaint with the UN last week over the shipment, after Israeli officials said they had found enough weapons, including rockets, to supply Hezbollah for a month of fighting. They were stored in at least 40 containers headed to Syria from Egypt, the officials said.

The incident was raised by U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff at a closed-door Security Council meeting discussing developments in Lebanon since a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, diplomats said.

"The November 4 discovery of a concealed arms shipment in commercial shipping containers, clearly manifested from Iran to Syria in violation of Resolution 1747, provides unambiguous evidence of the destabilizing proliferation of arms in the region," a U.S. official said, summarizing the U.S. address.

Britain's deputy ambassador said he too had raised London's "very serious concern" about the affair, but was more guarded about Iranian involvement, saying only there was a "suggestion that Iran has been caught illegally exporting weapons."

Britain was awaiting further information and could not yet confirm details of the Israeli allegations, envoy Philip Parham told reporters.

Syrian Ambassador Bashar al-Ja'afari flatly denied the allegations. "The act perpetrated by the Israelis is an act of piracy on the high seas and the Israelis should be held accountable," he told reporters outside the council chamber.

"I think - and many people think with me, with Syria - that all these are (the) usual Israeli outrageous concoction of lies to justify their act of piracy."

Ja'afari and Lebanese envoy Caroline Ziadeh also criticized the latest report on Lebanon by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for underplaying Israeli violations of UN resolutions such as surveillance overflights of Lebanon, and focusing more on cross-border shooting by Lebanese guerrillas.

The UN Security Council on Tuesday welcomed the newly formed government in Lebanon and a UN official said the ceasefire in the south was holding "remarkably well" despite repeated violations from both sides.

Michael Williams, the UN coordinator for the Middle East peace process, briefed the council on the implementation of Resolution 1701, which ordered a ceasefire between Israeli and Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon in 2006.

"The UN looks forward to working with the new government in addressing the challenges and fulfilling Resolution 1701," Williams said.

"But obviously more needs to be done to safeguard what has been achieved in the past three years," Williams said.

Williams denounced the almost daily incidences of violations by sea or land of the ceasefire, citing rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel and the Israeli jet-fighter swoops that violated Lebanese sovereign airspace.

Williams said the UN has condemned the flights and Hezbollah's attacks against Israel. He cited also the maintenance of weapons depots in southern Lebanon as ceasefire violations.

He said the cease-fire violations are "cause for concern and raise the specter of a potential escalation" of the fighting.

Williams called for a permanent ceasefire.

"The cessation of hostilities has held remarkably well and I think it's a tribute to UN Interim Forces in Lebanon, and obviously to Lebanon and Israel," he said.

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      1.   UN welcomes terrorists 23:09  |  vik 10/11/09
      2.   Rockets fired by Hezbollah? 23:23  |  Sami 10/11/09
      3.   only 1 reason for calm...deterence from 06 23:29  |  jon 10/11/09
      4.   well if the UN said so then 23:38  |  rich 10/11/09
      5.   WOOOOOAAHHH, hang on 00:19  |  VIPER 11/11/09
      6.   Iran accuses US of weapons shipments to Israel 01:06  |  Damian Lataan 11/11/09
      7.   And Iran will accuse the U.S. of weapons shipments to Israel.... 01:15  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/11/09
      8.   "Remarkably well"???? Like in Poland in August, 1939? 01:20  |  IW 11/11/09
      9.   Israel has more UN resolutions than any other nation 01:34  |  Marc Leb 11/11/09
      10.   Enough with the BS already! 01:58  |  JTA 11/11/09
      11.   Iranian upper eastern chinese private nuke range destroyed 01:58  |  Rankoo 11/11/09
      12.   Whats the problem? 02:14  |  maoriboy 11/11/09
      13.   The US sends weapons to Israel 02:22  |  Basil 11/11/09
      14.   First Remove The Plank From Your Eyes... 02:32  |  Cool B 11/11/09
      15.   Don`t they know that only Israel is allowed to have weapons... 02:39  |  peacelover 11/11/09
      16.   Too funny when US only complain about somethings 03:28  |  John 11/11/09
      17.   smuggling can never be fully stop 04:29  |  Chuckles 11/11/09
      18.   Whats the problem? 04:36  |  maoriboy 11/11/09
      19.   Hello UN? UNHRC? Is anybody home? Hello? Hello? 04:39  |  Dan 11/11/09
      20.   Armchair terrorists, is it legal 2 smuggl weapons from Iran 2 Hez 04:39  |  Yes or No 11/11/09
      21.   Peace with Syria 05:02  |  David LG 11/11/09
      22.   the ship was loaded in egypt! 06:19  |  northern neighbor 11/11/09
      23.   kudos to LF 06:57  |  Roger abdel massih 11/11/09
      24.   To 6 07:07  |  James 11/11/09
      25.   So what - the US ships arms to Israel! 07:16  |  Renesha 11/11/09
      26.   unambiguous evidence of the destabilizing proliferation of arms i 07:34  |  Curious 11/11/09
      27.   US/Zionist Hypocrazy 07:37  |  Ali 11/11/09
      28.   Funny 07:41  |  Liat89 11/11/09
      29.   Israeli Infraction = Self Defence: Leb Inf = Aggression 07:44  |  Brad 11/11/09
      30.   Peacelover, the Irrational 07:51  |  Brad 11/11/09
      31.   John 07:52  |  Brad 11/11/09
      32.   Iran shipped arms to Hezbollah 08:15  |  DT 11/11/09
      33.   Correction David LG 08:28  |  Peter Williams 11/11/09
      34.   horrible racist maori boy 08:54  |  Jim 11/11/09
      35.   legal: Yes or No??? 09:08  |  depends 11/11/09
      36.   This is just hypocrisy and priacy... 09:44  |  Dutch 11/11/09
      37.   And Iran will accuse the U.S. of arms shipments to Israel..... 09:47  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/11/09
      38.   # 17 Jim racist? 09:51  |  maoriboy 11/11/09
      39.   so what 10:06  |  m mustafa 11/11/09
      40.   PEACELOVER they know ONLY the Lebanese army is allowed to have 10:50  |  PETER SM 11/11/09
      41.   BASIL The USA sends weapons to Lebanon and sells/gives 10:54  |  PETER SM 11/11/09
      42.   MARCLEB Proving yet again the UN GA IS a Moslem run farce 12:12  |  PETER SM 11/11/09
      43.   #4 Rich 12:20  |  Chris Linthwaite 11/11/09
      44.   Does Israel have rockets pointed at Lebanon? 12:27  |  Ivor Biggun 11/11/09
      45.   peacelover #15 - Regarding your "Don`t they know..." 5th try 12:37  |  S 11/11/09
      46.   BIGGUN Nobody is complaining about the Lebanese army just Persian 13:02  |  PETER SM 11/11/09
      47.   Since when 1701 allows Hezbollah to be armed? 13:13  |  Meo 11/11/09
      48.   everyone knows this is a lie with the egyptians 14:06  |  gisele 11/11/09
      49.   To Peter Williams 14:57  |  David LG 11/11/09
      50.   Interesting to realize how many and who... 15:31  |  Eve 11/11/09
      51.   Difference btwn US arms to Israel and Iran to Hezbollah 16:25  |  Reid 11/11/09
      52.   From President Truman´s diaries 16:32  |  Tony Silver 11/11/09
      53.   Brad, Dutch Maoriboy - since you don`t believe in UN resolutions 16:33  |  Reid 11/11/09
      54.   Dino, quality of your posts deteriorated - # 7 is simply crap 17:53  |  Darth Zaider (Ed) 11/11/09
      55.   palistinians, iran, hezbollah 17:53  |  John McLeod 11/11/09
      56.   #7 Swiss Dino 18:55  |  D.Litner 11/11/09
      57.   # 54 Darth Zaider and # 56 D.Litner 20:14  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/11/09
      58.   # 53 Reid..zzzzzz 06:01  |  maoriboy 12/11/09
      59.   # 53 Reid..yawn 09:37  |  maoriboy 12/11/09
      60.   Swiss (Dino) 15:34  |  David Israel 12/11/09
      61.   # 1 so what you call the state that been killing Civilians and 22:17  |  US person 12/11/09
      62.   Weapons 20:55  |  Carole, 16/11/09
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