Israel Matzav

Turkey intercepted Iranian chemical weapons shipment to Syria

Four Iranian trucks that were intercepted by Turkey near the Syrian border two weeks ago were carrying raw materials for ballistic missiles and chemical weapons according to the Turkish daily Taraf. Iran denied that the trucks were carrying weapons.

While Turkish officials did not publicize the contents of the cargo in the Iranian trucks, Taraf reported that one truck was carrying for six-meter-long cylindrical tanks and heat-resistant materials, while the other three vehicles were transporting 66 tons of sodium sulfate, which can be used to make chemical weapons.

Turkey - which imposed an arms embargo on Syria last September - has dispatched a scientific team to study the contents of the freight, while the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency has also requested a report on the trucks' materials.

The Iranian embassy in Ankara denied earlier this month that the four trucks held by Turkish customs were carrying military equipment from Iran to Syria, while a spokesman for Turkey's foreign ministry said an investigation was still in progress.

The trucks were confiscated in Turkey's southeast province of Kilis at the Oncupinar border crossing into Syria.

YNet adds:

Details on the documents obtained from the trucks suggested that the materials belonged to a leather company in Tehran and that they were being delivered to a person in Aleppo, Syria, for leather production.

Taraf has claimed that the same materials can be used in the production of chemical weapons and that the leather company is likely a cover up, recalling that thousands of people were killed by chemical weapons in Syria in 1982.

Syria already has chemical weapons, which has to make you wonder why they think they need more. Hmmm.

Labels: chemical weapons, Iran, Syria, Turkey

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:27 PM