Monday, February 09, 2009

AP, Nicosia, Cyprus, Feb 7, 2009 — A ship suspected of carrying arms to Gaza will not be returned to Iran, Cypriot officials said Saturday, but they refused to say what exactly was found onboard the boat or whether the cargo contravened U.N. resolutions.
Cyprus inspected the Monchegorsk twice after it arrived Jan. 29 under suspicion of ferrying weapons from Iran to Hamas fighters in Gaza. The U.S. military stopped the ship last month in the Red Sea, and said it found artillery shells and other arms aboard. But it could not legally detain the ship, which continued to Port Said, Egypt, and then to Cyprus.
The Cyprus-flagged ship is now anchored off the port of Limassol under tight security.