“For the first time, the IDF is releasing photos of Iran’s entire weapons shipment to Gaza terrorists. Iran attempted to hide its involvement, but the evidence is clear,” the IDF stated on Monday afternoon, when it exposed to the world the Iranian arms contained on the Gaza-bound ship that was intercepted last week by the Israeli navy.
“We have solid information that proves Iran’s relationship with the shipment,” a senior IDF Intelligence officer said after a combined IDF task force from various units inspected the Klos-C ship and unloaded the weapons. Israel had blocked the shipment of Iranian arms, en route to Gaza, last week.
“The containers were sealed in Iran and they have Iranian authenticity seals on them, including seals of the Iranian postal company,” he explained. “The cement bags that were used to hid the weapons were clearly marked as coming from Iran.”
The Iranian arms shipment contained 181 heavy mortars, 400,000 bullets and dozens of M-302 rockets that have the capability to strike almost anywhere in Israel.
‘IRAN WAS TRYING TO HIDE ITS INVOLVEMENT’
“In the cargo hold of the ship, you can see that 100 out of 150 of the containers were transferred from Iran to Iraq,” the officer continued. “There they added additional containers and changed the loading form in order to make it look like the entire shipment came from Iraq. This can be cross-referenced with the documents that we discovered on the ship. Generally speaking, Iran was trying to hide its involvement in any form.”
(Iran had denied its involvement after the ship was seized, with Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian saying that any claims of Iranian involvement were “baseless and false.”)
The IDF report adds that the shipment would have equipped Gaza terrorist organizations with strike capabilities far exceeding those they currently hold.
“We’re talking about weapons that are out of the ordinary; different from previous smuggling attempts. These warheads are far larger than other rockets [currently present in] Gaza. Take the rocket from Operation Pillar of Defense that hit a home in Rishon Lezion. That rocket destroyed one floor. This warhead would have destroyed the entire building.”
NETANYAHU SLAMS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOR ‘HYPOCRISY’ OVER IRANIAN ARMS
“I heard only isolated and weak condemnation of Iran from the international community regarding this deadly shipment,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, speaking from the Eilat port where the ship was unloaded.
“By contrast, we are witness to smiles and handshakes of representatives of the West with representatives of Iran in Tehran at the very time that these missiles were being unloaded,” he added, apparently referring to EU Policy Chief Catherine Ashton’s weekend trip to the Islamic Republic for discussions.
Citing “more evidence of the era of hypocrisy in which we live,” the Israeli leader said Iran’s “goal was to have rained down on the heads of Israel’s citizens…. We are revealing the truth behind the deceiving smiles of Iran, to expose the delusion that Iran is changing direction.
“Just as Iran hid its deadly missiles in the belly of this ship, Iran is hiding its actions and its intentions in many of its key installations for developing nuclear weapons.”
‘THE WORLD MUST WAKE UP…BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!’
“This time there were long-range missiles in these containers. In the containers in the future Iran can arm nuclear suitcases that it can send to every port in the world,” the Israeli leader warned. “The world must wake up from its illusions before it is too late.”
“My message today is simple,” Netanyahu stated. “Those engaged in self-deception must waken from their slumber. We cannot allow Iran to continue building nuclear weapons…. Tomorrow, the whole world could be involved.”
Date: March 10, 2014