In November 2009 the Israeli navy boarded the vessel in the Mediterranean Sea, suspecting that it was carrying weapons destined for Hezbollah from the Islamic Republic of Iran in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.

[8] The IDF suspects that the cargo was intended for Hezbollah, which fought Israel in the 2006 Lebanon War.

Following the war, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 forbade the shipments of arms to Hezbollah.

[9] The arms shipment weighed 320 tons and were held in containers marked with Iranian shipping codes.

[7] On 5 November 2009, ambassadors and diplomats from 44 countries and military attaches from 27 armies in the world were invited by the IDF and the Foreign Ministry in order for them to be witnesses of the many weapons and accumulation of ammunition that were found on the Francop ship.