The Telegraph reports Islamic Republic able to bypass UN arms embargo; most weapons supplied by Russia, China.


Iran's vice president tours Israel border -


Mohammad-Reza Rahimi addresses Hezbollah supporters during visit to Israel border; Iranian VP highlights "the need to stand firmly and resist the Zionist regime"


Tours by visiting Iranian officials on Israel's border have become a matter of routine in recent years. During such visits, senior officials usually meet Hezbollah leaders and senior Lebanese figures. An aide to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited the area last year and said that "no cement or iron fence will save Israel."



Published: 05.03.12


Iran imported weapons worth over $560 million over a three-year period despite being the target of a United Nations arms embargo, The Telegraph reported Thursday, citing data published the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.



Anna MacDonald, the Control Arms campaigns manager for Oxfam, was quoted by the British daily as saying that the Islamic Republic's success in tapping the international arms market showed the ineffectiveness of current restrictions.


"If you are an unscrupulous government, it's quite easy to find your way around them," she said.



Russia and China, the report said, who prevented the UN from imposing a comprehensive embargo, are thought to have been the principal suppliers of weapons to Iran between 2007 and 2010.



According to the report, Azerbaijan, which is subjected to an arms embargo by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, has nonetheless been able to import arms worth over $720 million between 2000 and 2010, making it the biggest purchaser of weaponry by any nation under embargo.




In all, 10 countries subjected to arms embargoes still managed to buy arms worth over $2.2 billion between 2000 and 2010, The Telegraph reported.


According to the British daily, the UN is expected hold a conference to discuss the issue in July.


However, The Telegraph said, countries like Russia and China, which benefit greatly from arms exports, are "highly unlikely" to accept any international rules that would restrict this trade.










Iran's vice president tours Israel border -



Iranian Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi visited Thursday the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras and spoke to Hezbollahsupporters in the area.



During a visit to a park bordering on Israeli territory, Iran's vice president stressed the Islamic Republic's ongoing support for Hezbollah. He later met with group leader Hassan Nasrallah in a southern Beirut suburb.




"After speaking to resistance supporters in southern Lebanon, Rahimi stressed Iran's support for the resistance," said Iran's official news agency, IRNA. According to the report, Iranian and Hezbollah flags were raised during the VP's visit to the "Iranian Park," restored by an Iranian body entrusted with rebuilding southern Lebanon in the wake of the 2006 war with Israel.



According to the Iranian report, Rahimi observed the Lebanon border and "occupied Palestine." During the ceremony, he read a message highlighting "the need to stand firmly and resist the Zionist regime."






The senior Iranian official arrived in Lebanon Wednesday for a two-day visit, where he also met with the Lebanese president. Iranian media outlets said the visit was meant to discuss the implementation of agreements between the two states.



Tours by visiting Iranian officials on Israel's border have become a matter of routine in recent years. During such visits, senior officials usually meet Hezbollah leaders and senior Lebanese figures. An aide to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited the area last year and said that "no cement or iron fence will save Israel."







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