US navy seeks arms bound for Hamas

by Amy Judd | January 24, 2009 at 03:02 pm

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An American naval ship located in the Gulf of Aden has now been orded to look for suspicious Iranian arms ships that could be heading for the Red Sea, as apparently Tehran is looking to re-equip Hamas fighters.

This taskforce is called 'Combined Task Force 151' and it has been searching for pirates in the Gulf, but has now been ordered to track Iranian shipments of arms.

It was only last week that the USS San Antonio boarder the Russian cargo vessel Monchegorsk, and made the ship dock at an Egyptian Red Sea port and it was checked for arms. Reports state that weapons were found.

The naval clampdown follows growing disillusion in Israel at the outcome of the 22-day war in Gaza. Although the incursion enjoyed overwhelming public backing, with 91% support at the time, opinion polls suggest that only half the electorate now believe that the military goals were achieved.