Iran Arms for Nicaragua Arrive in N. Korea, U.S. Aides Say

A shipment of Iranian arms and ammunition has arrived at the North Korean port of Hungnam and is awaiting delivery to Nicaragua, U.S. officials said Friday.

The shipment is reported to contain more than 9,000 Soviet-made AK-47 rifles, “several million rounds of ammunition,” rocket-propelled grenades and land mines, the officials said.

According to the officials, who spoke on condition they remain anonymous, much of the weaponry is believed to have been captured by Iran in its war with Iraq.

The State Department and the Nicaraguan Embassy had no immediate comment on the reported Iranian-Nicaraguan arms deal.

The Iranian-Nicaraguan transaction is thought to have been worked out during a January visit to Managua by Iranian Prime Minister Hussein Moussavi.

‘Armed With Determination’

At the time, Moussavi denied that his government had agreed to supply military supplies to Nicaragua. “Nicaragua does not need our arms. It is armed with its determination and its faith,” he said.

President Reagan has said that Moussavi’s visit to Nicaragua represented a “new danger” to Central America.

The reported Iranian-Nicaraguan connection would appear to be consistent with Iran’s status as one of the world’s most stridently anti-American countries. The Administration believes that Iran is responsible for the kidnapings of six Americans in Lebanon and is intent on eradicating U.S. influence in that country.

Nicaragua has relied for the most part on the Soviet Bloc for its military equipment. Although not a member of that alliance, Iran has some of the same foreign policy objectives as Moscow.

North Korea has had a military relationship with Nicaragua for some time. U.S. intelligence sources learned several months ago that Nicaraguan army recruits have been receiving training in hand-to-hand combat from North Korean experts in Nicaragua.

Reasons for Route

The U.S. officials offered several possible reasons for Iran’s apparent decision to use North Korea as a conduit for the shipments.

They said the Iranians may have wanted to conceal the origin of the equipment by sending it through North Korea. In addition, shipping via the Pacific Ocean would permit use of the Nicaraguan port of Corinto, which is better equipped to handle large deliveries than Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast ports.