New York - Israel on Thursday sent a protest note to both the United Nations Security Council and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that Iran had tried to send a ship loaded with weapons to Syria in violation of UN resolutions. The cargo vessel Francop was seized by Israel on Wednesday before it reached a port in Beirut, with Syria as the final destination. The vessel sailed with an Antigua and Barbuda flag.
Israel's UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said the vessel had 36 containers of hundreds of tons of a wide range of weaponry, including rockets, missiles, mortars, grenades and small arms and light weapons.
"The weapons were declared as a civilian cargo in the ship's manifest and were hidden among hundreds of other containers aboard the ship that originated from the Islamic Republic of Iran," the Israeli protest note said.
"The intended route of the Francop - coupled with the types of weaponry found on board - raise serious concerns that this incident also constitutes a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and 1373," the note said.
Those resolutions prohibited states from transferring military weapons to the region.
The note said Iran's national shipping company, IRISL, has been involved in transporting weapons banned by UN Security Council resolutions.
