Israelis tried to sell arms to Iran

While Israel is waging a diplomatic battle against Iran, an investigation has found that some Israeli arms dealers tried to smuggle vital aircraft spare parts to the sanction-hit Islamic Republic.

According to a joint American-Greek probe, Israeli arms dealers tried to smuggle spare parts for F-4 Phantom aircraft to Iran via Greece in a breach of arms embargo imposed on Tehran.

The investigation, conducted by American Homeland Security and Greece's Drugs and Weapons Unit of Financial Crimes Squad, found that the operation was carried out in two stages, first in December 2012 and again in April 2013, reported Greek newspaper Kathimerini.

Greek investigators were tracing the caches containing the spare parts that reached Greek territory in both the cases, the daily said.

The containers were shipped from the Binyamina-Givat Ada Regional Council and were destined for Iran, it said.

The cargo was to be shipped by a Greek firm named Tassos Karras SA, which was found to be a ghost company.

The US-led investigation found that Israeli arms dealers were behind the deal, the report said.

In 1979, Washington had imposed sanctions on Iran after the Islamic Revolution that ousted the US-backed ruler Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.

The sanctions were later expanded in 1995 and included companies that had businesses with the Iranian government.