NICOSIA, Cyprus – The saga of a ship suspected of carrying arms from Iran to Gaza grew more complicated Saturday as Cypriot authorities searched the ship, then backed away from previous assertions that it was violating U.N. resolutions.
Authorities will now conduct a second search, the Cypriot foreign minister said.
Suspicions that the Cypriot-flagged container ship Monchegorsk was ferrying arms from Iran to the militant Palestinian organization Hamas had been raised by the United States. The U.S. military stopped the vessel in the Red Sea last week, but could not legally detain it or seize its cargo.
The ship continued on to Port Said, Egypt, then headed for Cyprus, where it arrived Thursday. It remains anchored off the island nation's southern port of Limassol under tight marine police security.
Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou said Saturday that a first inspection of the Monchegorsk was complete. He refused to give details on the ship's cargo, saying authorities were still trying to determine if it contravened United Nations resolutions.
Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias had said Friday without qualification that the ship had violated U.N. resolutions.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on its Web site Saturday that Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni had spoken to Kyprianou by telephone and asked that he take steps toward confiscating any weapons aboard the ship.
Kyprianou, speaking on Cypriot state radio, urged patience "for a few days," as disclosing any more information would hinder the government's handling of the issue.
"This is a very serious matter concerning the Cyprus Republic's responsibilities as a member of the United Nations and the European Union, but also its relations with the international community," Kyprianou said on state radio.
Israel launched a 22-day offensive late last month on Hamas-controlled Gaza, trying to end rocket fire on Israeli civilians and halt arms smuggling to Hamas.
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