This is not at all the first time such allegations have surfaced, and the British Foreign Ministry called Tehran's dealings "hypocritical, two-faced and highly dangerous."
One could call the Iranian regime any number of things, but in this case, it is not being hypocritical. This behavior is part and parcel of its well publicized jihad against the West, particularly the United States, Israel, their allies and anyone cooperating with either of them. As for the duplicity, well, after all, "War is deceit."
"Iran's illegal arms trade: 'Hypocritical and dangerous'," by Allan Urry for BBC News, June 6:
Evidence is mounting that Iran is supplying weapons to the Taliban - and that British and other foreign troops are dying in Afghanistan as a result.
"Hypocritical, two-faced and highly dangerous."
Strong words from British Foreign Office Minister, Alistair Burt, referring to Iran's flouting of UN sanctions to sell arms to militant organisations like the Taliban.
Mr Burt's fury was sparked by a consignment of powerful rockets which was discovered in February in the hands of insurgents on an Afghan battlefield.
Investigators found the rockets were fitted with fuses which could only have come from Iran.
"Iran knows exactly what it's doing," Mr Burt told the BBC.
"On the one hand it claims to want to come back into the international community, and the next thing they're doing something that it knows is contrary to what the international community has decided."
Actually, they feel entitled to both: good standing in the international community and the ability to keep doing everything they are doing.
The BBC has seen a letter from the UK Mission to the United Nations, addressed to the chairman of the Security Council committee on Iran, which states without hesitation that Tehran supplied the rockets to the Taliban.
"These rockets originated in Iran and were being transferred to the Taliban at the behest of the Iranian regime," writes Philip Parham, Charge d'Affaires to the UK Mission.
And this is only one of a number of recent incidents which provide damning evidence of Tehran's involvement in arms smuggling to Afghanistan and elsewhere.
One such case involved former Royal Marine Andrew Faulkner, who was jailed for two-and-a-half years last year after he admitted trying to smuggle high specification rifle sights to Iran.
Not long ago the weapon of choice for Taliban fighting UK troops in Afghanistan was the improvised explosive device (IED), but in the last 15 months there has been an increase in the number of soldiers shot dead by Taliban marksmen.
The first British victim of the change of tactics by the Taliban in Helmand Province was 23-year-old Corporal Richard Green, from the 3 Rifles, who was shot dead on patrol in Sangin in March 2010.
His father, Chris Green, said the Taliban never used to be regarded as good shots, among British troops.
"So the main threat was IEDs and they had pretty well sorted out the IED threat," he said.
"Snipers weren't even considered, he never spoke to me about snipers, ever. It was always about IEDs."
The sniper scopes Mr Faulkner tried to smuggle were stopped before they reached Tehran, but his arrest led HM Revenue and Customs to a Europe-wide illegal arms racket.
UK Customs tipped off their Italian counterparts, who began an investigation into claims that people inside - or connected to - Iran's Revolutionary Guard were placing orders for explosive fuses and chemical parts, despite an arms embargo against the country....
Melanie Phillips:
"I warned about this years ago. Now ministers admit I was right"
[opening excerpt]:-
"Now they tell us. Ministers have finally admitted what I revealed in my book, Londonistan, back in 2006 and have written many times since then – that, incredible as it may seem, hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money that was supposed to be spent on countering Islamic extremism has gone to groups or individuals actually promoting Islamic extremism.
"Paralysed by political correctness, the previous Labour government, the intelligence agencies, police, universities and other institutions decided to try to promote ‘moderate’ Muslim groups to tackle the extremists."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2000622/Islamic-extremism-I-warned-years-ago--ministers-admit-I-right.html#ixzz1OgVKdCf4
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2000622/Islamic-extremism-I-warned-years-ago--ministers-admit-I-right.html#ixzz1OgHtoNUt
"One such case involved former Royal Marine Andrew Faulkner, who was jailed for two-and-a-half years last year after he admitted trying to smuggle high specification rifle sights to Iran."
Are the British really going insane?
A member of the armed forces is caught smuggling weapons components to the enemy which have already directly resulted in the deaths of some of his fellow soldiers, and he receives two-and-a-half years?
He didn't receive more time for knowingly causing the deaths of his fellow soldiers than he would have for hot-wiring a car.
I don't understand it.
Not supporting the "Green" Revolution in Iran has come back to bite us in the ass. How's that decision working out for us, President Obama?
just so you know this movement is very much alive.
m
I'm sure it is - just would have been nice if the President had supported it. Instead of being a toady for the mullahs.
Ronald B wrote:
"One such case involved former Royal Marine Andrew Faulkner, who was jailed for two-and-a-half years last year after he admitted trying to smuggle high specification rifle sights to Iran."
Are the British really going insane?
..................
I caught that too, Ronald B. So much of increased sophistication in the Jihad threat stems from technology either stolen from Infidels—or, as here, sold by Infidels to the enemy.
What did Faulkner think they were going to do with "high specification rifle sights"? *Of course* their use was going to lead to the murders of his fellow Britons or other Westerners.
What Andrew Falkner did *was treason*. Even if Briton is no longer executing its traitors, he should have been looking at life in prison.
*Two-and-a-half years*? Felons get longer sentences for relatively minor drug charges. Insanity, indeed.
U.K.: Evidence continues to mount that Iran is arming the Taliban
And what are we going to do about it, besides nothing? They have sponsored terrorism against the West for 32 years without consequences. No wonder they think we're effeminate wussies.
Ronald I join you in expressing outrage and total mystification at such a light sentence for treason.
I know what old Henry the VIII would have done to the bastard.
From the article: "One such case involved former Royal Marine Andrew Faulkner, who was jailed for two-and-a-half years last year after he admitted trying to smuggle high specification rifle sights to Iran."
Question. Was he 1. a useful idiot 2. blackmailed or corrupted in some way or 3. a convert to Islam?
While quranimal factions believe in a decisive battle within the savagery at the end of days, they also believe in unity on certain non-controversial issues: like the extermination of Jews and Christians in Zion. Ayatollah support for Taliban is likely. However, Bush-Obama shield of the mega billion dollar Heroin Industry - run by the Karzai Klan - allows talibanimals to rake in their 15% cut of the trade.
What we have in Afghanistan isn't a planned military intervention: it is an Orwellian War-War, that continues because decisive measures are prohibited from being implemented.
There could be a fourth question : Was he being paid a *lot* of money to do so ? And if so, who by ?