Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel has reported the interception of a ship loaded  with Iranian missiles for the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military said naval commandos stopped, boarded and searched a cargo vessel in the Red Sea that contained missiles for the Gaza Strip.

The military said the ship, flying the flag of Panama but believed to be owned by Iran, was intercepted on March 5 off the coast of Sudan some 1,500 kilometers from the Jewish state.

“Weapons of strategic significance were discovered on the Iranian vessel, including rockets capable of reaching various distances,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said. “The arms were destined to reach terror organizations in the Gaza Strip via Sudan.”

The missiles, concealed under sacks of cement, were said contain ranges of up to 200 kilometers. The sources identified one weapon as the M-302, a heavy rocket supplied to Hizbullah and Syria, dozens of which were found on the ship.

President Shimon Peres said the Iranian missiles were headed for Hamas.
Peres said Hamas, despite severe economic difficulties was buying missiles in preparation for another conflict with Israel.

“This operation exposes the true face of Iran which says one thing but
does the opposite,” Peres said. “They put on an innocent face and send the
most dangerous missiles to a terror organization that kills innocents, in
violation of international law.”

The sources said the ship, called Klos-C, left Iran in late February and
headed through the Arabian Sea for the Red Sea. They said the ship, with 17
crew members, made a stopover in Iraq and then headed toward the Red Sea.
They said the ship was to have unloaded its cargo in Sudan, where it would
have been transported overland to the Gaza Strip.

“At this time, IDF forces are searching the shipping containers on board
the Iranian vessel and questioning the crew, who do not appear to have been
aware of the vessel’s contents,” Ya’alon said.

The United States said it was involved in the Israeli operation. State
Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington relayed intelligence on
Klos C and allowed Israel to conduct the interception alone.

“Soon after becoming aware of the imminent movement of the suspected
vessel, the White House directed the Department of Defense to monitor the
vessel,” Ms. Psaki said.

The captured ship was being sailed to the Israel Navy base in Eilat. The
sources said nobody was injured in the interception, which included Israel’s
Mossad espionage agency. Officials said the end-user for the Iranian
missiles was probably the Islamic Jihad.

“The operation proceeded boldly yet intelligently, and we managed not
only to foil the arms transfer, rather also to thoroughly expose Iran’s
terrorist activity,” Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said. “The
magnitude of the weapons and ammunition not yet revealed will expose the
serious impact that it would have had on Israel.”

  Klos-C, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, Moshe Ya’alon, Shimon Peres, Ship intercepted by Israeli commandos near Sudan carried missiles under sacks of cement