INVESTIGATION INTO IRANIAN SHIPMENT BOUND FOR

UNCLAS ANKARA 000065 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KNNP KSTC MNUC PARM PREL TU IR SUBJECT: INVESTIGATION INTO IRANIAN SHIPMENT BOUND FOR VENEZUELA CONTINUES REF: ANKARA 0003 (SBU) During a January 14 with MFA Undersecretary Ertugrul Apakan, the Ambassador raised the seizure by Turkey of an illicit shipment from Iran to Venezuela (reftel). The Ambassador praised Turkey's vigilance and said that, like the transit of a rail shipment of weapons from Iran which was disrupted by a terrorist attack two years ago, this seizure showed that Iran sought to use Turkey's territory to violate UN Security Council Resolutions. Reading from a prepared brief on the subject, Apakan said that an inter-agency investigation of the shipment is continuing, but Turkey's Atomic Energy Agency (TAEK) had already examined the shipment and had determined that no nuclear materials or dual use items were present. Other agencies continued their investigation with regard to export control regimes. Turkey will notify the U.S. as soon as this process was complete. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey Jeffrey