Iran says ship held by Cyprus not carrying arms

Iran denied on Wednesday that a ship detained by Cyprus last month on its way from the Islamic Republic to Syria had been carrying weapons.

A Cypriot source on Saturday said the ship appeared to be carrying weapon-related material from Iran prohibited under U.N. resolutions, saying that was the advice Cyprus received from a United Nations panel monitoring compliance of sanctions.

The United States, which earlier boarded the ship in the Red Sea, said its navy found weapons on board which it could not confiscate for legal reasons.

Asked about the ship, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi told a news conference: "What they initially said, that it was weaponry and so on, it is not true."

Israeli media had reported the vessel was suspected of carrying weapons to arm Hezbollah in Lebanon or Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Qashqavi said Cyprus had decided to launch an inquiry into the consignment of the ship, which was detained on the Mediterranean island on Jan. 29.

"If it had been weaponry it would have been crystal clear with no need for an investigation. Thus, the news that (an Israeli newspaper) propagated at the outset was a baseless one," Qashqavi said.

A Western diplomatic source said U.S. navy inspections had found arms-related material including propellant and other casings for artillery and tank rounds, as well as shell casings.

Iran is under U.N. and U.S. sanctions over its nuclear programme, which Western powers suspect is aimed at making bombs but which Tehran is for generating electricity.