In an editorial published Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal commented on the findings of a report recently issued by a United Nations committee regarding the illegal Iranian arms shipment found on the Klos C, a ship that Israel intercepted in March. The weapons were found hidden under bags of cement.
The editorial (Google search terms) ties the findings to the recent escalation of hostilities between the Iranian-sponsored terror groups in Gaza and Israel.
Tehran denies any role in the shipment. But a recent classified report from the U.N. Security Council's Sanctions Committee effectively confirms it, and we've seen the pertinent portions. The panel found that Bandar Abbas, a southern Iranian port, "is established as the origin of the shipment of 100 containers of cement, including the 20 containing weapons and ammunition." ...
The panel concluded: "The shipment of arms and related material found aboard the Klos C is a violation of Iran's obligations under paragraph 5 of resolution 1747," referring to an embargo on Iranian arms transfers imposed by the Security Council in 2007. The panel didn't weigh in on the ultimate intended recipient of the shipment, yet previous such shipments have made their way to Gaza.
1747 is the the third of six Security Council resolutions passed overwhelmingly with regard to Iran's nuclear weapons program.
With less than two weeks to go before the deadline for a nuclear deal between the P5+1 nations and Iran, the UN report serves as an important reminder of the multiple threats Iran poses to the region.
In Iran is *Really* Good at Evading Sanctions, which appeared in the September 2013 issue of The Tower Magazine, Emanuele Ottolenghi warned, "If the world wants to avoid a dystopia in which the Bashar Assads of today and those of tomorrow enjoy perfect immunity to use chemical weapons against civilian populations as long as a nuclear-armed Tehran is on their side, figuring out how to dramatically and quickly ratchet up sanctions, before its too late, should be a major strategic imperative." The warning is especially apt in light of this latest revelation of Iran evading sanctions.
(By The Tower staff writers- reprinted by permission)
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