NICOSIA and Tehran yesterday stuck to their guns in their conflicting definitions of the term “arms” regarding the ship being detained off Limassol harbor.
Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou said the Cyprus-flagged Monchegorsk is carrying “conventional material” that falls under the relevant UN resolutions prohibiting arms exports from Iran.
Tehran meanwhile denied the ship had been carrying weapons.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi yesterday told a news conference:
“What they initially said, that it was weaponry and so on, it is not true.”
Qashqavi said Cyprus had decided to launch an inquiry into the consignment of the ship.
“If it had been weaponry it would have been crystal clear with no need for an investigation. Thus, the news that (an Israeli newspaper) propagated at the outset was a baseless one,” Qashqavi said.
In Nicosia, government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou declined comment on Iran’s reaction, saying he had not read Qashqavi’s statement yet.
But a government decision on the matter would be taken “within the next few days,” he said.
“What I would like to stress is that from the outset the Republic has proceeded, is proceeding and will continue to proceed on the basis of legitimacy and UN resolutions.”
Iran is under UN and US sanctions over its nuclear programme, which Western powers suspect is aimed at making bombs but which Tehran says is for generating electricity.
By its resolutions 1737, 1747 and 1803, the UN Security Council imposed certain measures relating to the Islamic Republic of Iran. These measures include “an export ban on arms and related materiel from Iran”—a broad wording that could cover munitions or raw parts that can be fashioned into weapons.
Despite persistent questioning, Kyprianou declined to specify the precise nature of what was found on board. That information would be made public once the government reached a final decision on what to do with the ship and its cargo, he said.
“Checks [of the cargo] have essentially been completed, and we shall now be assessing our findings…” he said.
However, he did offer that the material on board was “not hazardous”—a statement suggesting that Cyprus might have the facilities to store the cargo on the island after all.
However this is an option complicated by Israel’s insistence that the cargo must be destroyed and not stored.
Very little is known about the ship, other than it had a Russian crew and was registered in Cyprus. The Russian Embassy in Nicosia has said the vessel is not a Russian concern.
“We are exploring all options on the table. Essentially there are two possibilities: either the Republic will keep the cargo or, if this is deemed to be unfeasible, then we shall hold discussions with other countries.
“But we have not reached that stage yet,” he added.
Kyprianou denied also reports Cyprus had asked foreign governments to receive the shipment.
The Monchegorsk was detained by Cypriot authorities on January 29, after the United States, which earlier boarded the ship in the Red Sea, said its navy found weapons on board which it could not confiscate for legal reasons.
Diplomatic sources said Saturday said the ship appeared to be carrying weapon-related material from Iran prohibited under UN resolutions, saying that was the advice Cyprus received from a United Nations panel monitoring compliance of sanctions.
The material was said to be shell casings for artillery and tank rounds. The vessel had set sail from Iran and was believed to be headed for Syria. Israeli media had initially reported the vessel was suspected of carrying weapons to arm Hezbollah in Lebanon or Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
