Israel Navy commander: Hizballah arms ship carried hundreds of tons of hardware

DEBKAfile Special Report

November 4, 2009, 11:02 PM (GMT+02:00)

Seized Hizballah arms ship

The Antigua-flagged arms ship Francop commandeered by the Israeli Navy early Wednesday, Nov. 4, near Cyprus, carried 300 containers, in 40 of which hundreds of tons of Iranian arms for Hizballah were hidden, said Israeli Navy commander Brig.-Gen Ronnie Ben-Yehuda in a news briefing Wednesday, Nov 3. Most of it was ammo, grenades, 122-km Katyusha rockets, mortar shells and anti-tank missiles, enough to keep Hizballah fighting for a month or more.

DEBKAfile's military sources report the first arms ship set out from Kish Island or Bandar Abbas in the third week of October and was detected by US satellites over the weekend while heading out of the Straits of Hormuz and into the Gulf of Oman. The USS Anzio guided missile cruiser of the US Navy's Task Force 151 shadowed the weapons ship as it sailed into the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. This task force leads the operations against piracy and Iranian arms smuggling under the command of Rear Adm. Scott Sanders.

Israeli military intelligence, navy and air force were kept informed of the Francop's movements, including the projected times of its passage through the Suez Canal and arrival in the Mediterranean. Tehran and Hizballah knew the ship had been spotted and expected it to be seized, although they did not know by whom.

The Egyptian Navy kept close to the arms ship as it passed through the canal to the Mediterranean.

The ship docked at Damietta, Egypt, where the arms freight was offloaded to the Francop, which then acquired an escort of US Sixth Fleet and Israeli Navy warships..

No action was taken then because the American and Israeli commanders of their joint Juniper Cobra ballistic exercise agreed to hold off seizing the ship until a few hours after the two-week war game ended Tuesday, Nov. 3. Washington was reluctant to embark on direct military action against an Iranian target so long as nuclear negotiations are still in progress for fear of provoking a fresh crisis with Tehran. This delay allowed the Francop to reach Beirut, but Hizballah held off unloading the shipment because it was under surveillance. The Francop then headed to the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli where it docked until Oct. 30 when it set out for the Syrian port of Tartous. The Syrians were also wary of laying hands on the cargo under the eyes of the US Sixth Fleet and so the Francop set sail again this time toward Cyprus. Before reaching its next port of call, the ship was intercepted by Israeli commandoes who boarded early Wednesday 100 miles out to sea and directed it to the Israeli naval base at Ashdod for further examination.

DEBKAfile's military sources add: Iran is finding it increasingly difficult to smuggle arms to Hizballah because of US-Israeli intelligence and naval cooperation. Tehran is now sending out smaller shipments - this one masked by several dozen containers or civilian merchandize - hoping to draw less attention to its deliveries and incur smaller losses if they are impounded. But this latest consignment, Brig. Ben-Yehuda disclosed, was more than ten times the 50 tons of weaponry carried by the Palestinian arms ship Karin-A which Israeli forces intercepted in 2002.

Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the Francop consignment was destined for attacks on Israeli cities, while defense minister Ehud Barak named Hizballah as the consignment's end-user.

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Khamenei rejects talks if outcome fixed by US, marks embassy hostage anniversary

DEBKAfile Special Report

November 3, 2009, 4:23 PM (GMT+02:00)

Iran's all-powerful ayatollah says no

"We do not want any negotiation the result of which is predetermined by the United States," said Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the clearest rejection yet of the world powers' UN-brokered proposal for Iran to ship three-quarters of its enriched uranium overseas for reprocessing.

"Giving the US a veto over the nuclear talks would be like a sheep and wolf relation, which the late imam (Khomeini) has said 'we do not want,"" he said.

To drive his anti-US message home, the ayatollah spoke Tuesday, Nov. 3, the eve of the 30th anniversary of the US embassy seizure by radical students on Nov. 4, 1979 shortly after Khomeini's Islamic revolution - pouring salt on a sensitive landmark in Iranian-US relations. The 53 Americans were held hostage 444 days before being freed on Jan. 1981, but relations were never restored.

President Barack Obama and his engagement policy were singled out by Khameini for a smack in the face when he said: "Whenever the U.S offers a smile, it hides a dagger in his back." The level of unrelenting anti-US rhetoric heard from the all-powerful spiritual ruler was exceptional even in Iranian terms.

DEBKAfile's Iranian sources report that the all-powerful Ayatollah may have left a wafer-thin crack more divisive than constructive open for the negotiations begun in Geneva last month to continue. The United States must have no say in their outcome, he insisted in the hope of isolating the US from its fellow negotiators, Russia, China, the UK, France and Germany.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said Tuesday: "This is a pivotal moment for Iran. Acceptance fully of this proposal (overseas uranium enrichment) would be a good indication that Iran does not wish to be isolated and does wish to cooperate."

Monday, Nov. 2, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warned that the six world powers negotiating with Iran would not tolerate delaying tactics. "If the Iranian response is to stall, as it seems to be, we will not accept this," he told journalists in Paris.

Israel's Heron drones integrated in NATO's Afghanistan war

DEBKA Exclusive Report

November 3, 2009, 4:17 PM (GMT+02:00)

Israel's Heron TP sold in 40 countries

Germany is the fifth foreign nation to acquire the Heron TP drone or other Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle technology for support missions against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan, DEBKAfile's military sources report. Today, these drones complement the US Air Force's dominant role in Afghanistan air space, thanks to two useful features and the CIA's shortage of Predators for its own and NATO use:

1. The Israeli drones are cheaper.

3. The Herons' operational features include a long-distance range, the ability to stay aloft for 52 hours non-stop and tracking and targeting capabilities. They can carry out complex functions such as in-flight refueling and slotting into strategic missile defense systems.

Equipped with 1,200-horsepower engines, they carry 250 kilos of ordnance, mainly air-ground missiles. With this load, the Israel UAVs can reach an altitude of 11,000 meters. Flying empty, it can reach a height of13,700 meters. This means that the Heron can fly above regular commercial air traffic without becoming icebound thanks to another special feature, which is important in the freezing Afghan winters.

Our military sources report that the Canadian armed forces began using Israel UAVs a year ago, hiring them on charter from Israel's Aviation Industries.

Two months ago, Australia's Special Air Service Regiment SASR fighting in Afghanistan put the Heron into service.

French forces in Afghanistan are using the SIDM which is based on the Israeli Heron's technology and structure.

The Israel Hermes 450 pilotless vehicle made by Elbit is deployed by British units against Taliban and al Qaeda in the embattled Helmand province, as it was in Iraq.

World armies have purchased a total of 40 Israeli drones of different types. The most recent client was Russia.

Monday, Nov. 2, South Korea's aviation industry Kai selected Elbit as one of four electronic companies out of 80 contenders to outfit its KUH Surion helicopter:

The Israeli firm will supply Advanced Helmet-Mounted Display Systems (HMDS), Vehicle Information Systems and Data Transfer Systems.