TURKISH MFA DETAILS IRANIAN ARMS FOUND ON TRAIN;

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001417

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2017
TAGS: PREL MOPS PARM IZ SY TU
SUBJECT: TURKISH MFA DETAILS IRANIAN ARMS FOUND ON TRAIN;
GOT TAKES STEPS TO STOP FUTURE SHIPMENTS

REF: A. ANKARA 01347

B. TD-314/42628-07

C. IIR 6 898 0352 07

Classified By: DCM Nancy McEldowney for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: MFA South Asia Department Director Ahmet
Murat Yoruk listed for us on June 6 the arms recovered from a
Turkish freight train derailed in a PKK terrorist attack in
eastern Turkey May 25, including mortar shells, RPG barrels,
rifle rounds, and smoke bombs. Yoruk said the MFA has
demanded official explanations from Iran and Syria. In
response to this incident, Turkish Customs has stepped up its
surveillance of road and rail crossings from Iran and hopes
to soon have new x-ray equipment in place on the border. We
strongly urged the MFA to report the find to the UN, stressed
the urgency for GOT implementation of UNSCR 1747, offered
assistance in identifying the weapons, and noted US interest
in providing more assistance to Turkish Customs. Ambassador
also underscored US concern about the incident, and the need
to report to the UN with Deputy Under Secretary for Middle
East and South Asia Feridun Sinirlioglu on June 5. End Summary


2. (C) The weapons were hidden in two containers of
fiberglass roofing material, Yoruk said, which according to
the bill of lading, were shipped from the Behnam Shahriyari
Trading Company in Tehran and consigned to the Al Joori
Trading Company in Damascus. The containers entered Turkey
from Iran at the Kapikoy rail crossing in Van Province.
Several cars of the Turkish State Railways freight train
carrying the containers were derailed in the attack, believed
carried out by the PKK through a remotely detonated IED in
the Genc District of Bingol Province. Yoruk noted that there
had been two prior PKK attacks on trains in Bingol Province
using similar methods.


3. (C) According to the MFA, Turkish Jandarma recovered from
the train: 393 boxes of 81 mm mortar shells (1,572 rounds);
75 boxes of 120 mm mortar shells (150 rounds); 275
"multi-barreled RPG barrels;" 115 boxes of 7.62 mm sniper
rifle cartridges (115,000 rounds); and 64 boxes containing
1,920 "smoke bombs."


4. (C) Yoruk told us that MFA U/S Ertugrul Apakan called in
the Iranian charge on May 28 to issue a strongly-worded
protest and to demand an official explanation. The MFA
reminded the Iranian Embassy June 5 that it was waiting for
an official response, but had not received any statement as
of June 6. Yoruk confided that he did not expect any
official Iranian admission of complicity and quoted official
press reports from Tehran in which Supreme National Security
Council Secretary Ali Larijani denied Iranian government
involvement in the shipment. The MFA had also instructed its
embassy in Damascus to seek an explanation and comments from
the SARG, Yoruk said, but had not yet received a reply.


5. (C) As a result of this incident, Yoruk said that Turkish
Customs has stepped up its surveillance of vehicles and train
cargo entering Turkey from Iran. The number of manual
inspections of containers and trucks has been increased, and
Customs is expecting new x-ray equipment to be in place at
some border checkpoints soon to aid in detection of illicit
cargo. Separately, Turkish Customs informed us that it has
tightened the targeting matrix for shipments departing Iran
and has also increased the number of random searches that are
now being conducted on this border.


6. (C) Noting that the GOT had requested two IL-76 cargo
flights transiting Turkey from Syria to Iran to land in
Dyabakir for inspections on May 30 and May 31, Yoruk said GOT
plans to continue to request transiting aircraft to land for
inspection on a case-by-case basis. He also told us that
documents on board a freight train which was inspected by
Turkish authorities in August 2006 contained the name of the
Tehran-based Behnam Shariyari Trading Company, although,
Yoruk noted, no weapons or illicit cargo were found on board
the train.


7. (C) In response, we strongly urged that Turkey report the

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weapons find to the appropriate UN committee. We used the
opportunity to again underscore the urgency of GOT
implementation of UNSCR 1747, a point Ambassador emphasized
with Under Secretary Sinirlioglu June 5. We offered to
provide assistance in identifying the origin of the weapons.
We also noted our interest in providing further assistance to
Turkish Customs upon entry into force of the
Non-proliferation Cooperation (AKA EXBIS) Agreement,
including mobile x-ray and detection equipment and upgrades
to monitors and communications equipment at all border
locations.

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WILSON