U.S. watching for Iranian arms to Gaza

GAZA, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. Navy ships in the Gulf of Aden have been ordered to be on the lookout for Iranian arms shipments heading for Palestinian militants in Gaza, sources say.

Citing unnamed diplomatic sources, The Sunday Times of London reported the Navy's Combined Task Force 151, which is patrolling against pirates off the coast of Somalia, has also been instructed to track Iranian arms shipments bound for the Red Sea.

As part of that effort, the newspaper said the amphibious transport dockship USS San Antonio, which serves as the command and control center for the taskforce, last week boarded a Cypriot-flagged cargo vessel, searched it an Egyptian port and, citing unconfirmed reports, said weapons were found aboard.

The U.S. Navy moves come as Israeli officials are expressing disillusionment over what was achieved during their 22-day assault on Hamas militants in Gaza, in which more than 1,300 Palestinians, most said to be civilians, were killed, The Sunday Times reported.

The newspaper said Israel is clamping down on Iranian arms smuggling, with a document circulating among ministers last week suggesting that despite the Gaza incursion, Iran is moving ahead with a huge arms re-supply program for the region.