BICOM

A report prepared for the United Nations Security Council by a group of experts tasked with monitoring compliance with UN sanctions on Iran has revealed details of large-scale Iranian support for terrorist movements across the Middle East. The report details ten different occasions in recent years in which Iran has been caught while seeking to supply arms to insurgent and paramilitary organisations. The incidents detailed include the apprehending of the Victoria cargo ship by the Israeli Navy this year, which was intercepted en route to Alexandria, carrying arms to Hamas. The report also notes the recent discovery by British forces in Afghanistan of a weapons shipment, including advanced missiles, on its way to the Taliban in Afghanistan. In March, Turkey discovered a large arms shipment on its way to Syria from Iran, on a cargo plane.

The details supplied in the UN report reflect a consistent pattern of Iranian support for forces promoting instability across the Middle East. It is noteworthy that Iranian policy in this regard transcends narrow ideological and sectarian differences. In Afghanistan, for example, the Taliban adhere to a branch of Islam that is viscerally hostile to the Shia beliefs of the Iranian regime. Yet Teheran is actively engaged in supplying weaponry to the group, because of their common Western enemy. The international communities focus, with regards to Iran, is Teheran’s nuclear programme. It is important, however, to note that Iran’s ambitions in this regard are of acute concern because they are part of a broader regional policy of building power through subversion and terrorism. A nuclear capability would provide Teheran with ‘insurance’ for the continuation and escalation of the pattern of activity revealed in the UN report.

In related news, in an additional UN report, a panel of experts has revealed that over the past year Iran has increased the pace of its efforts to develop long-range missiles. The report by the panel, which was convened a year ago after the UN Security Council imposed stiffer sanctions against Iran in an effort to halt the Teheran’s nuclear programme, has not been officially released. In a campaign led by the United States, the United Nations has shown concern over Iran’s development of medium- and long-range missiles in addition to its nuclear programme itself. Iran’s efforts to develop missiles have therefore been monitored along with Iranian weapons-smuggling operations noted above.