Iran denies links with seized N Korean weapons

Wednesday, 23 December 2009 13:21 Usa Pichai

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Iran has denied any link with weapons seized from an aircraft in Thailand, which could have been enroute to Iran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in a weekly press conference, "We don't think these actions are meaningful in today's world and we strongly deny such an incident."

He also added, “Unfortunately, every time when Western countries try to deprive us of our nuclear rights ... and exert more pressure on Iran, such news is spread quickly around the world," according to a report in Xinhua news website on Tuesday.

"These pieces of news were fabricated as part of their attempt to exert political pressure and stage their psychological warfare," Mehmanparast said.

The response was after a report that the flight was on the way to Tehran in Iran after several stops.

The Associated Press reported on Tuesday citing a new report by arms trafficking researchers from the nonprofit groups TransArms in the United States and IPIS of Belgium that the flight was headed to Iran.

The U.N. Resolution 1874 was adopted after North Korea's second nuclear test in May, after one in 2006, to call for an overall arms embargo and financial sanctions and interdiction of cargo on the high seas to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, missiles, other weapons of mass destruction and conventional arms. North Korea is believed to earn largely every year by selling missiles, missile parts and other weapons to countries such as Iran, Syria and Burma.

The researchers say that the aircraft’s previous registration documents link it to Air Cess and Centrafrican Airlines, which are allegedly connected to accused weapons trafficker Victor Bout, who has been in prison in Thailand since he was arrested on March 6. He is battling attempts at extradition to the United States on terrorism charges but, the report said there was not enough evidence to link the plan definitively to Bout.

The seizure was made on December 12, where more than 100 Thai security officials searched a Russian-built IL-76 military transport aircraft bearing the number AWG 732, when it landed at Bangkok's domestic Don Mueang airport after it asked for permission to refill fuel. It flew in from North Korea.

The seized 35 tons of weapons included rocket-propelled grenades (RPG), anti-aircraft SAM (surface to air missiles) and ammunition. It was impounded and transported in military trucks to a military arms depot in Thailand.

The report, which was released on Monday, also says that the aircraft's lease owner, SP Trading located in New Zealand, was told that the equipment on board should be brought to Ukraine first for handling before its delivery to Pyongyang.

Recently, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said that more time is needed for the Thai government to decide on how to deal with the seized military weapons from North Korea - to destroy all of them under the terms of the active United Nations resolution or to only destroy a portion of them.

Suthep said that till now there has been no clear decision whether to destroy them all or keep some for military use in the armed forces. “More time is needed to inspect the weapons, to catagorize and to consider the terms of the UN resolution.”