Iranian Ship to Syria Gets a Clean Bill of Health
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — At least this time, an Iranian shipment to Syria was on the up-and-up.
There were allegations by opposition forces in Syria that a Tanzanian-flagged ship from Iran was transporting arms to President Bashar al-Assad’s military.
Al-Assad’s foes accused Tehran of shipping as much as 8,500 tons of weapons and ground missiles.
This prompted Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority to conduct a search of the vessel, turning up about 7,500 tons of Urea chemical. The boat was then allowed passage to the Mediterranean Sea.
Urea chemical is almost always used as a nitrogen-release fertilizer, although it can be found in improvised explosive devices.
This latest development likely won’t quell accusations that Tehran is in cahoots with Damascus and keeps sending weapons to aid al-Assad’s regime in its bid to crush the opposition after more than two years of war.
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