The fifty tons of arms found on the Victoria, a ship raided by Israeli Navy commandos 200 miles from Israel’s coast, were bound for Alexandria, Egypt.
The raid was technically illegal, as there is no international blockade of Gaza, though it is unlikely to be condemned given the military cargo found on the vessel. Assuming that the arms were being delivered to Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization, the piracy is legally defensible.
More troubling is Iran’s willingness to ship the weapons through an Egyptian port. The Iranians have never before now risked unloading major arms shipments in Egyptian ports; the weapons were unloaded in Sudan or elsewhere, and smuggled through Egypt. This attempt reflects the growing control of the pro-Iranian Muslim Brotherhood over Egyptian strategic facilities.
To deflect the criticism, the Egyptians quickly intercepted an arms load being smuggled through Sinai.
