Baghdad says ship seized in Yemen belongs to Iraq
Iran Press TV
Sun Mar 3, 2013 7:23PM GMT
Iraq says a ship loaded with weapons and missiles, which has been seized by Yemen, belongs to Baghdad, despite Yemeni claims that it belongs to Iran.
Baghdad said on Sunday that Iraq's Ministry of Defense sent the shipment to Yemen's Mukala port as part of a contract with Sana'a.
On February 2, Yemen said the seized ship was an Iranian vessel trying to smuggle explosives and rockets into the Arab country.
Officials in Washington had earlier said the ship was intercepted on January 23 in coordination with the US Navy.
It is not the first time that Yemen has made unfounded claims about the seizing Iranian ships carrying arms to the country.
On December 29, 2012, the London-based Arab daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that Yemen's Navy had detained an Iranian ship 'containing weapons' in the port of Saleef, a claim which was strongly rejected by an Iranian naval commander.
Tehran strongly refuted Yemen's claims, saying that Iran attaches importance to maintaining the security and stability of regional countries, particularly Yemen.
"I do not confirm this report and I think that many such reports are political games," Iranian Navy Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Gholam-Reza Khadem Bigham said.
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