US summons Syria over illicit arms trade

Washington: The State Department has summoned the senior Syrian diplomat in Washington to accuse his government of "provocative behaviour" in supplying arms to the Iranian-aligned militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

A department statement Monday announcing the complaint was imprecise about the alleged arms deals by the Syrians. It alluded to the transfer to Hezbollah of Scud ballistic missiles but did not say explicitly that Syria was behind such a deal.

Israel's President Shimon Peres last week directly accused Damascus of providing the missiles, which can carry a warhead of up to one ton, which makes them far larger than the biggest rockets previously in Hezbollah's arsenal. They also are more accurate.
US summons Syria diplomat for facilitating illegal arms transfer