(Guardian-UK) Ian Black - State Department cables released by WikiLeaks show that the U.S. has worked discreetly to block the supply of Iranian and Syrian weapons to Hamas and Hizbullah, pressuring Arab governments not to cooperate. In many cases the requests were based on secret intelligence provided by Israel. In January 2009, around the time of Israel's offensive in Gaza, U.S. diplomats were instructed to express "exceptional concern" to Sudanese authorities. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Chad were also informed of the Iranian plans and warned that any weapons deliveries would be in breach of UN resolutions banning Iranian arms exports. In March 2009, Jordan and Egypt were informed by the U.S. of new Iranian plans to ship a cargo of "lethal military equipment" to Syria with onward transfer to Sudan and then to Hamas. Host nations were requested to require that the flights land for inspection or deny them overflight rights.
2010-12-07 08:10:54Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive