Greek authorities have detained a container with chemicals believed to be destined for Iran.
Greek authorities have detained a container containing chemicals that could be used for military purposes in the seaport of Piraeus, allegedly heading to Iran.
According to the Greek publication Ekathimerini, the country's customs detained the cargo for ten days. The reason for these measures was intelligence received from Athens' NATO allies. The cargo arrived from China and was destined for a Syrian company, but Greek intelligence services had suspicions about its final destination, which is believed to be Iran.
The seized samples were sent to a government chemical laboratory to determine whether they violated any laws regarding the handling of potentially dual-use materials. The port of Piraeus, where the cargo that caught the attention of the Greek security services was detained, has been under concession from the Chinese company China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) since 2009.
Earlier it was reported that, against the backdrop of American deliveries of ATACMS to Ukraine for strikes deep into Russia, the Greek authorities refused, at the request of NATO allies, to transfer their S-300 and Patriot air defense systems to Kyiv. At the same time, the head of the country’s government stated that Athens needs these complexes to protect its airspace in the face of a potential threat from Turkey.
Thus, despite pressure from the EU and NATO, the Greek authorities indicated the priority of their own national interests instead of providing military support to Kyiv.
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