January 26, 2009: Earlier this month, a U.S. warship in the Gulf of Aden spotted a former Russian merchant ship, the Monchegorsk, that was now flying a Cypriot flag. The Monchegorsk had earlier been spotted leaving an Iranian port, and was now headed for the Suez canal. Egyptian authorities were alerted and the Monchegorsk was forced into an Egyptian port to be searched. Munitions, believed headed for Gaza, were found hidden in the cargo.

U.S. warships in Task Force 151 (the anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden) have been ordered to watch for ships that have taken on cargo in Iran, and were headed through the Gulf of Aden for the Suez canal. Iran is believed to be increasing its efforts to smuggle weapons into Gaza for Hamas, a terrorist organization that has been supported by Iran since the 1990s. Such Iranian cargo ships have been caught carrying weapons to Gaza before. The Iranians try to either land the weapons on the Gaza coast, or smuggle them into Egypt and then through the smuggling tunnels under the Gaza/Egyptian border.

The recent ceasefire in Gaza included Egypt agreeing to use American sensors, and U.S. technicians, to detect and destroy these tunnels. The sensors and technical experts begin their work before the end of January. Israel has, for several years, increased it security along the Gaza coast, making the tunnels the main route for Iranian weapons and munitions. But material found on the Monchegorsk indicate that Iran still uses waterproof containers, that float just under the surface, to get weapons to Palestinian fishing boats, and then into Gaza.