The Victoria Affair (code name Operation Iron Law) was a military operation conducted by the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

(IDF) in March 2011 in which the

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy ( he, חיל הים הישראלי, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'' (English: The Israeli Sea Corps); ar, البحرية الإسرائيلية) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in ...

intercepted the vessel ''Victoria'' on the international waters in the Mediterranean, and discovered concealed weapons which, according to the IDF, were destined for

Palestinian militant Palestinian fedayeen (from the Arabic ''fidā'ī'', plural ''fidā'iyūn'', فدائيون) are militants or guerrillas of a nationalist orientation from among the Palestinian people. Most Palestinians consider the fedayeen to be " freedom fig ...

organizations in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

. The vessel was found to be carrying approximately 50 tons of

weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

s, including C-704

anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A goo ...

s, rocket launchers, radar systems, mortar shells and rifle ammunition.

Background

Israel maintains a naval blockade of the

to prevent the smuggling of arms into the hands of militant organizations based there. In 2003, Israeli commandos intercepted the '' Karine A'' in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

, and seized 50 tons of missiles, mortars, rifles and ammunition which it said were destined for Gaza. In 2009, the Israeli navy intercepted the Iranian vessel ''

Francop Francop is a quarter in the Harburg borough of the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg in northern Germany. In 2020 the population was 711. History Francop, probably founded in the mid-12th century, belonged - as to its government - to the Prin ...

'' off the coast of Cyprus, carrying hundreds of tons of weapons. Iran is Hamas's main arms provider, smuggling weapons overland through

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and Sinai in addition to using the sea route.

Operation

Israeli commanders were acting on intelligence reports indicating that 39 of the 100 containers on deck were loaded with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian weapons while at port in Syria, and were to be transferred to

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni- Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qas ...

. The ''Victoria'' was seized about 200 nautical miles from the Israeli coast, while on its way from Turkey to El-Arish port in Egypt (other sources give the destination as Alexandria, Egypt). According to the IDF, the ship picked up the cargo in the Port of Latakia in Syria and sailed to

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and district governorates: Akdeniz, Mezitl ...

, Turkey. The ship was intercepted by

missile ships, which radioed the captain and questioned him about his point of origin and planned destination, then informed him that his ship was suspected of carrying illegal cargo, and requested permission to board for an inspection. The captain agreed, and ordered the vessel stopped. Several minutes later, speedboats carrying commandos from Israel's elite naval unit,

Shayetet 13 Shayetet 13 ( he, שייטת 13, lit. ''Flotilla 13'') is a unit of the Israeli Navy and one of the primary sayeret ''(reconnaissance)'' units of the Israel Defense Forces. Shayetet 13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions, counter-terrorism, ...

, pulled alongside the ship. A ladder was dropped for them to climb aboard. The commandos boarded with their weapons at the ready out of concern that there could be Iranian or Hamas operatives on board. The commandos ordered the crew to assemble on the bridge, and then began inspecting the cargo. The IDF said the ship's crew was unaware it was carrying concealed weapons. The ship was redirected to the

Port of Ashdod The Port of Ashdod ( he, נמל אשדוד) is one of Israel's three main cargo ports. The port is located in Ashdod, about 40 kilometers south of Tel Aviv, adjoining the mouth of the Lachish River. Its establishment significantly enhanced the c ...

for further inspection. After the contraband was unloaded, Israel announced it would release the ''Victoria'' and allow it to continue its journey to the Egyptian port of Alexandria. According to the IDF's Deputy Navy Commander Rear Admiral Rani Ben-Yehuda, the weapons may have been transported from Iran to Syria several weeks earlier, when two Iranian warships sailed through the Suez Canal.

The shipment

Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Weaponry Found On-Board the

Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Missile Identification Document in Persian

Concealed in three containers hidden beneath cotton bags and lentils produced in Syria were the following weapon systems: * 6 C-704 anti-ship missiles * 230 mortar shells, caliber 120 mm * 2,270 mortar shells, caliber 60 mm * 2 radar systems manufactured in England * 2 rocket launchers * 2 hydraulic mounting cranes for the radar system * 66,960

7.62×39mm The 7.62×39mm (aka 7.62 Soviet, formerly .30 Russian Short) round is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge of Soviet origin. The cartridge is widely used due to the worldwide proliferation of Russian SKS and AK-47 pattern rifles, as ...

rounds (Commonly used in the AKM). According to the IDF, the weapons were accompanied by user manuals in Persian. The packing slip for the 60mm mortar also included a range table for use with a model AZ111-A2 impact fuse, made exclusively by Iran. In an attempt to mislead would-be inspectors, "Made in Britain" labels were attached to all of the crates. The C-704 missile has a range of 35 kilometers, and a 130 kilogram explosive warhead capable of sinking a 1,000-ton ship. According to ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the pap ...

'', had the six missiles the ship was carrying arrived in the Gaza Strip, they "would have forced the navy to change the way it operates. It now operates just a few kilometers from shore; this would no longer be possible".

Responses

* : The Israeli Foreign Ministry instructed its ambassador to the UN to file a complaint to the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

's sanctions committee over Iran's efforts to smuggle arms to the Gaza Strip, as a violation of UNSC resolution 1747, which forbids Iran to export arms. * : Iran's Chief of Staff General

Ataollah Salehi Ataollah Salehi ( fa, عطاءالله صالحی; born 9 March 1950) is the former and third commander-in-chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, serving from 2005 until 2017. He graduated before the Islamic Revolution from the Iranian Arm ...

denied the allegations that Iran was behind the shipment and was quoted as saying "Israel is a regime based on a lie, and it manufactures lies and fabrications" * : Spokesman for the

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

Mark C. Toner released a press statement saying: "In light of the recent seizure of advanced arms and related material by Israel and Egypt bound for terrorist groups, the United States reiterates its strong condemnation of illicit smuggling activities. We underscore that all countries have obligations under relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions to prevent such trafficking in arms and ammunition. Iran, in particular, is prohibited by United Nations Security Council resolution 1747 from exporting any arms and related materials. Any activity to the contrary is another example of Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region. We call upon all regional countries to enforce these obligations. We will continue to work closely with our partners to prevent the shipment of arms to terrorist groups."

References

External links

IDF's YouTube channel's section of the Victoria Affair
nbsp;– videos from the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces *Irish Defence Forces *Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 *Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations *Israeli Diving Federation *Interaction ...

's footage, YouTube
Weapons-Carrying Ship Victoria Anchored at Ashdod
- published on 16 March 2011

IDF Spokesperson's Unit The IDF Spokesperson's Unit ( he, דובר צה"ל, ''Dover Tsahal'', abbr. Dotz) is the unit in the IDF Operations Directorate, responsible for information policy and media relations. The unit is led by the IDF Spokesperson, a brigadier general a ...