U.N. Report: Iran caught smuggling to terrorists

JTA -- Iran has been caught 10 times in recent years smuggling weapons to terrorist groups, according to a U.N. report.

The report, the contents of which were revealed Friday in The Jerusalem Post, was prepared for the U.N. Security Council and reviews the effects of the council's sanctions on Iran for refusing to make transparent its nuclear program.

Included in the report are mentions of instances of Iran smuggling weapons that were ultimately to have reached Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Post said.

The report also revealed that Iran test-launched two long-range missiles this year.

Separately, the Obama administration on Thursday added three major Iranian security bodies to its sanctions list for human rights violations. They are the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, the Iranian police and the Basij Militia, an organization consisting of volunteer enforcers. The Basij was singled out for its brutality against protesters in the wake of June 2009 elections that were widely seen as rigged.

“America's latest sanctions against the despotic Iranian regime are another clear signal of our determination to match policies with principles," the American Jewish Committee said in a statement praising the sanctions.

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