- ABUJA: Iran says that the Gambia-bound arms shipment seized at Nigeria's busiest port three months ago did not breach sanctions imposed by the United Nations.
Iranian Ambassador Hussein Abdullahi said Wednesday that the shipment “was not conflicting with the UN sanctions,” because Iran and Gambia had signed a secret agreement two years before the UN's 2010 ban on Iranian arms exports.
The UN, however, banned exports in a 2007 resolution and tightened sanctions in 2010.
Abdullahi said that the military-grade arms seized on Oct. 26 by Nigerian port authorities were in transit to Gambia.
He said it was the third of four shipments and that two shipments had successfully taken the same route.
Nigeria has charged an Iranian in court and had UN experts examine the cargo.