UAE In Tough Position After Intercepting Goods From North Korea To Iran

It was reported this week the United Arab Emirates (UAE) seized a ship secretly carrying embargoed North Korean arms to Iran.

Under Security Council resolution 1874, the United Arab Emirates has the authority as a member-state of the the United Nations, to intercept any shipments  stipulated by a UN sanctioned arms embargo against the North Korean government.

The ship, ANL-Australia, was carrying 10 containers of  rocket-propelled grenades and ammunition. There were no missiles on the ship.  The TSS, a purchase company working with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards placed the order for ammunition and arms from abroad. The UAE is a central location for shipments of arms from one port to another.

Some diplomats believe the arms were intended for state-sponsored Basij militia who have brutalized and murdered protesters on the streets of Iran in the post-election clampdown.

The UN imposed its sanctions on June 12 this year after underground nuclear tests and several rocket launches by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Warnings by the Security Council to stop went ignored.

The partnership between Iran and North Korea remains strong. Iran is the biggest buyer of North Korean weapons. Iran and North Korea have also partnered up to exchange ideas on enriching uranium while North Korea has produced plutonium for nuclear devices.

Last Friday, the United Nations’ nuclear agency, the IAEA, issued a report claiming Iran had increased its number of centrifuges and that Tehran had not suspended its nuclear activities as required. The IAEA also expressed concern about Iran’s lack of transparency. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will meet on September 2 to discuss implementing tougher UN sanctions against Iran.