[Washington Institute for Near East Policy] Matthew Levitt - In recent years there have been a number of incidents involving Iranian efforts to transport military materiel and arms by sea, land, and air to its allies and surrogates. During the 2006 Hizbullah-Israel war, Israeli intelligence claimed that Iran was resupplying the Shiite movement via Turkey. Such claims gained credibility in May 2007, when a train derailed by PKK terrorists in southeastern Turkey was found to be carrying undeclared Iranian rockets and small arms destined for Syria - probably for transshipment to Hizbullah. Iran has emerged as a major arms supplier for Hamas in Gaza, as well as for anti-American governments in South America. These episodes underscore Iran's growing emergence as a supplier of military materiel, equipment, and arms for radical Islamist and anti-American allies in the Middle East and beyond. For that reason, it is increasingly important to establish a comprehensive regime to constrain Iran's ability to transfer military materiel and arms, especially if Iran were to market its nuclear technology abroad.
2009-05-01 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive