BICOM

In a dramatic operation yesterday, Israeli naval forces seized a vessel delivering long-range rockets from Iran which were destined for Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces took control of the ship, the Klos-C in international waters near the Sudanese coast, a full 930 miles from Israel. The ship was flying the Panamanian flag and Israel received permission from Panama to board the vessel, which was found to be shipping dozens of Syrian-made M-302 rockets, which have a range of between 100-200 miles. Complex intelligence was gathered and shared between Israeli and American agencies, tracking delivery of the rockets from Damascus to Tehran and shipment from Iran to the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr where they were eventually loaded onto the Klos-C hidden among bags of Iranian cement. The Klos-C was headed for Port Sudan, from where it is thought the rockets would have been smuggled overland into the Gaza Strip.

The special operation, codenamed “Operation Discovery” was personally overseen by Israel’s Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. The Klos-C is being towed to Eilat port and the crew, who are thought to have been unaware of the cargo, are in Israeli custody.

Speaking from Los Angeles, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the operation showed “At the same time that it is talking to world powers … Iran is sending lethal weaponry to terrorist organizations and it is doing so in a complex web of covert, worldwide operations.” An Israeli army statement said that Israeli forces had “prevented the arrival of a shipment of deadly and advanced weapons, which was aimed at harming Israeli civilians, and intended to reach the terrorist organizations of the Gaza Strip.”

US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed that American intelligence had been monitoring the Klos-C and that “unilateral steps” had been prepared to stop its delivery, but that Israel had offered to take the lead in the operation. Meanwhile, according to Reuters, Hamas described the operation as a “silly joke.”