Israel is displaying the weapons cache from the Iranian shipment to Gaza on Monday, in a bid to show the international community the ‘true face’ behind the Islamic Republic.
The IDF spokesperson’s office announced Sunday that the Klos C ship, which docked in Eilat over the weekend, has been unloaded and all the contents examined. The list includes: 40 M-302 rockets, with a range of 90 to 160 km; 181 mortar shells, 122 mm caliber; about 400,000 bullets, 7.62 caliber – which are usually used in Kalashnikov-type assault rifles.
Loading…
The IDF conducted the raid in the Red Sea Wednesday, between the waters of Sudan and Eritrea. The ship, which flew a Panamanian flag, carried weapons which were made in Syria under Iran’s directives and were being taken to Sudan. From there, they would be then taken to the Sinai Peninsula and smuggled to Gaza through the underground tunnels.
Netanyahu: International Community’s Ignorance ‘Hypocritical”
Speaking to the press at Eilat port, in view of the ship’s deadly cargo, Prime Minister Netanyahu noted – in both Hebrew and English – that the assorted rockets, mortars and other munitions were meant “for fatal purposes against Israel to hurt Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and even Haifa”.
“The goal was to have rained down on the heads of Israel’s citizens,” he said.
“We are revealing the truth behind the deceiving smiles of Iran, to expose the delusion that Iran is changing direction,” he continued. Netanyahu noted that the international community’s decision to downplay the IDF’s find is “evidence of the era of hypocrisy in which we are living.”
“The international community wants to ignore Iran’s ongoing aggression and its part in the execution of the massacre in Syria,” the Prime Minister fired. “They want to delude themselves that Iran has abandoned its intention to obtain nuclear weapons.”
“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,” he said.
“My message today is simple: those engaged in self-deception must waken from their slumber, we cannot allow Iran to continue building nuclear weapons. Today, Israel exposed Iran’s attempts against its people,” he continued, “Tomorrow, the whole world could be involved.”
Ya’alon: Iran ‘A regime of worldwide terror’
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon also addressed those gathered, asserting that whilst “Israel can defend itself, by itself,” the international community should take note of the disruptive and aggressive role played by Iran on the world stage.
“What we see here is a regime, a major exporter of terror, not only in the Middle East, but all over the world,” he began.
“Behind the smiling, the Iranian regime is financing, arming, training in Yemen, Afghan, Lebanon, Iraq, and… in the Gaza strip”, he said, which is “exporting terror to Asia, South America” with the aim of “challenging international order”.
“Behind this charm offensive, the real Iranian regime still has the same objective, the same goals, the same strategy, the charm offensive is just a tool to deceive the West.”
Proof that Iran is involved
AFP noted Monday that the cement bags hiding the weapons are also on display, and show clear proof of Iran’s involvement. On the sacks, written in English, were the names “Fars and Khozestan Cement Co” and “Hormozgan Cement Company” – both of them the names of firms based in Iran.
In addition, Netanyahu held up ship manifests throughout the press conference proving that the number and contents of the containers were clear forgeries. At least one digit was added manually to a digital printout, blatantly changing the number of shipping containers on Klos C.
Netanyahu later uploaded scans of the documents to his Twitter account.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has stated that it would file a complaint to the UN Security Council over the shipment. Iran has violated Security Council resolutions forbidding weapons sale from the Islamic Republic as well as arms smuggling to Gaza.
Both Iran and Hamas have denied any connection to the Klos C. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, unfazed by Iran’s denials, said on Thursday,” Now the government of Iran is saying it’s all lies That ship will get to Eilat in a few days, and we shall see who is lying, and we shall expose what Iran is really doing.”
