Turkey Confiscates Iranian Weapons Cargo

Shayan Ghajar

The Turkish government announced that for the second time in a week, an Iranian plane has been forced to agree to inspection while at an airport in Turkish city of Diyarbakır. While the first such incident resulted in no confiscation of items forbidden by United Nations sanctions against Iran, the latest inspection turned up a cargo containing automatic weapons, according to Turkish newspapers.

Turkey has been engaged in a diplomatic campaign to act as a mediator and voice of moderation in the Middle East on a variety of controversial topics, ranging from Iran’s nuclear program to the no-fly zone debates surrounding Libya. Consequently, Turkey’s announcement of the discovery of the weapons cargo may be seen as a sign that while it does not wish to alienate Iran, the relationship between the two countries has its limits.

Today’s Zaman, one of the largest news agencies in Turkey, reported in its English-language edition on March 23 that the Turkish government has been inspecting planes since the passage of U.N. sanctions on Iran in June, 2010, especially due to pressure from the United States to verify the nature of all Iranian cargo going to Syria over fears that Syria may have dabbled in developing a nuclear program of its own in recent years. Today’s Zaman cited sources in a Turkish-language newspaper, Akşam, which spoke directly with Turkish diplomats about the incident and American pressure to strictly enforce sanctions.

Today’s Zaman reports that the plane was carrying “light weapons, including automatic rifles, rocket launchers and mortars.” Iran is forbidden from exporting arms by the U.N. sanctions. The aircraft, an Ilyushin, was flying to Syria via Turkish airspace when asked to land in Diyarbakır for inspection, at which point it was searched for nuclear material, though weapons were found instead.

According to Hürriyet Daily News, Turkey’s largest English-language daily, the crew was briefly detained following the discovery, at which point they claimed the mortars and machine guns were for defensive purposes. Upon confiscation of the cargo, members of the crew were sent back to the plane, which was in turn directed back to Iranian airspace.

No response to the news has yet been issued by the Islamic Republic. Hürriyet explains that Iranian embassy officials the newspaper spoke to in Turkey were not officially informed of the seizure, and that the matter was closed for discussion as far as Iran is concerned. Neither Turkey or Iran will be eager to receive much publicity over the plane’s cargo. Turkey is uncomfortable with the prospect of confrontation with Iran while maintaining a policy of friendly relations with neighboring states. Iran is certainly not eager to have another publicized confiscation of weapons mere hours after the Israeli interception of a cargo ship of weapons from Iran to Gaza.

However, despite the desire of Turkey to remain a neutral intermediary in a conflict-ridden region, the announcement of the seizure of the weapons is likely intended as a mild rebuke to Iran for its repeated violation of U.N. resolutions.

via insideIRAN | Turkey Confiscates Iranian Weapons Cargo.