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Arctic Sea was carrying missiles to Iran, new report suggests

The saga of the missing Arctic Sea cargo ship took a fresh twist on Thursday after a Russian newspaper reported that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, made a secret visit to Moscow last Monday to discuss Russian arms shipments to Iran and Syria.

 

By Andrew Osborn in Moscow 
Published: 6:00AM BST 11 Sep 2009

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The vessel, which vanished for several days after being boarded by "pirates" in the Baltic, is currently at the centre of the greatest Cold War riddle since the killing of Alexander Litvinkenko, with theories abounding that it was carrying an illicit carg Photo: AFP

Russia's Kommersant daily cited a senior Kremlin source. The revelation appeared to support maritime and military experts who have claimed the ship was carrying S-300 anti-aircraft missiles for Iran, that Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, found out, and that the Kremlin was given time and space to stop the delivery and cover it up in order to save face.

Russia's foreign minister has publicly and fiercely denied those allegations, pledging a full investigation into the affair, while Russian investigators say they have found nothing on board the ship except the official cargo of timber worth just over one million pounds.

The vessel went missing for almost three weeks in July and August and, according to the official Kremlin version of events, was the victim of what would be the first case of piracy in European waters in the modern era.

But the Kremlin's storyline has failed to convince a European piracy official, an outspoken Russian journalist, and a growing number of so far anonymous political, military and intelligence sources in both Russia and Israel.

Meanwhile, Mr Netanyahu's whereabouts on Monday have become front page news in Israel, sparking an angry backlash against the premier. The Israeli press frantically tried to find out where he had spent the day after he disappeared from public view for up to 14 hours.

Mr Netanyahu's office initially claimed he was visiting a secret military installation inside Israel. But on Thursday it backtracked, saying in a statement that he was "busy with (some other) confidential and classified activity." It did not deny media reports that he had flown to Moscow.

The Russian foreign ministry also appeared to soften its position. Russian officials initially said that no such visit had taken place but on Thursday Andrei Nesterenko, a foreign ministry spokesman, chose his words more carefully.

"I am not saying yes or no," he told reporters. "I am just saying I don't have any information." Israeli President Shimon Peres held talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the Black Sea resort of Sochi the day after the Arctic Sea was "rescued." The subject of those talks was also Russian arms shipments to the Middle East.

Israel opposes Russian arms deliveries to Iran on the grounds that such weapons would destabilise the Middle East and sharply increase Israeli casualties in the event of an Israeli air strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.