36 Containers from Iran: Israel Stops German Ship Carrying Weapons for Hezbollah

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"The Israeli intelligence service has been watching weapons deliveries to Hezbollah for some time now," says Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman, author of the 2008 book "The Secret War with Iran." In the past, however, they have refrained from intervening, probably in an effort to protect their sources. Now, however, it appears the Israelis want its opponents to know that it is well informed, Bergman said.

Israeli officials were quick to inform the Germans of the action aboard the Francop as well as the dangerous stash of weaponry found. Preliminary investigations made it clear that the German participants in the case only played a very small role. The Francop belongs to a German shipping company Gerd Bartels, based near Hamburg. But it is actually leased to a charter company, United Feeder Services, which is based on the Marshall Islands and which operates out of Cyprus. Because no Germans were among the crew, the Israeli government agreed with Berlin merely to remain in contact over the matter.

Even without direct German involvement, there was still a lot of unease among officials in Germany's Foreign Ministry when the initial reports about the seized vessel began arriving. Mere weeks ago, the crew of an American naval vessel boarded the German-owned freighter Hansa India on the Red Sea, setting off a flurry of diplomatic activity. The Israelis had provided the US Navy with solid evidence that the ship, owned by the Hamburg-based shipping company Leonhardt & Blumberg, was carrying weapons bound for Hezbollah. In the end, the inspectors found what they were looking for: eight containers packed with 7.62 millimeter assault rifle ammunition buried among much more innocent cargo.

Guilt by Association

When US forces temporarily took control of the ship, which had a German captain, the German Foreign Ministry jumped into action and hammered out an agreement. The offending cargo was unloaded in Malta and handed over to authorities there. In response to a request by the Israelis, Germany's government immediately promised to hand over all the findings of its investigation to the UN Security Council committee in charge of overseeing sanctions against Iran.

The whole affair was rather embarrassing for Germany. When it comes to sanctions against Iran, which aim to keep weapons and materials needed to make a nuclear bomb out of the country, Berlin likes to present itself as hard-nosed and all-business on the international stage. The news that German ships are involved in smuggling weapons disrupts this image, even if the shipping companies are not directly involved in the weapons trade.

Israeli officials didn't finish interrogating the crew of the Francop until Wednesday evening -- they say that they don't believe the crew was consciously taking part in weapon-smuggling efforts and chances are that not even the Egyptians knew what was being transferred between ships in their harbor. According to the ship's owner, the vessel has already left Ashdod.

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• Part 1: Israel Stops German Ship Carrying Weapons for Hezbollah
• Part 2: Well Informed