| (WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented today on reports that Israeli naval commandos seized a ship carrying hundreds of tons of Iranian-supplied arms, including rockets that can hit Israeli cities, bound for the violent extremist group Hezbollah by way of Syria. Statement of Ros-Lehtinen:
“Iran’s shipment of 500 tons of weapons to violent extremists clearly crosses a red line.
“Will the United States and responsible nations finally hold Tehran accountable for this and so many other belligerent actions? Or will we continue to take the ‘wait and wait and wait some more’ approach as the threat Iran poses to our vital security interests and to such critical allies as Israel continues to grow?
“This massive shipment violates numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions banning Iran from exporting weapons and forbidding the arming of Hezbollah.
“Lives are at stake. Responsible nations must stop playing Iran’s games. It is high time that Iran be made to bear the consequences of its destructive actions. The time has come to impose crippling sanctions on the Iranian regime.”
Background: According to Israeli officials, roughly 500 tons of weapons, rockets, and missiles were uncovered aboard the cargo vessel Francop. If verified, this incident is the latest in a long line of interdictions of Iranian weapon and/or contraband shipments. In addition to other suspected vessels, in January 2003, Israel intercepted the Karine-A, carrying over 50 tons of Katyusha rockets, mortars, sniper rifles, bullets, anti-tank mines, anti-tank missiles, explosives, and other weapons to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. In May of 2001, Israel also intercepted a vessel, named Santorini, containing barrels filled with weaponry reportedly bound for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command.
Note: Ros-Lehtinen is the lead Republican co-sponsor of H.R. 2194, the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, which enjoys the support of over 300 bipartisan co-sponsors. Ros-Lehtinen is also the author of the Iran Threat Reduction Act (H.R. 1208), which would mandate a more comprehensive set of sanctions targeting the Iranian regime.
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