British officials are investigating Israeli military allegations that night vision goggles uncovered in a Hizbullah hideout were manufactured in Britain, a Foreign Office spokesman said on Monday.
“The Israeli Defense Forces have told us that they have found some night vision equipment in southern Lebanon that they believe to have been manufactured in Britain,” the spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity, in line with policy.
“We are seeking further details of the equipment to investigate whether it is British and, if so, by whom it was made and to whom it was sold,” the spokesman said.
Britain’s The Times newspaper reported Monday that Israeli officials believe the goggles may be from a consignment sold by Britain in 2003 to Iran.
The sale to Tehran was intended to bolster Iranian efforts to combat heroin smuggling across the Iran-Afghanistan border as part of the United Nations Drugs Control Program, the newspaper claimed.
The Foreign Office spokesman said it was not yet clear if the items were part of the batch sent to Iran in 2003 and denied claims that Israel had made a formal protest to the British government over the issue. He said he could not specify exactly where in southern Lebanon the equipment is alleged to have been discovered.