Israeli arms dealers tried to send to Iran spare parts for F-4 Phantom fighter jets through Greece, in violation of the arms embargo on the Islamic Republic, Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported on Monday.

The report is based on a secret probe conducted by the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations agency and Greece’s Financial Crimes Squad, which found that the operation was carried out in two stages, in December 2012 and in April 2013.

In both cases, the report says, officials found containers with spare parts for the plane which had been "sent by courier from the Israeli town of Binyamina-Giv’at Ada and had been destined for Iran, which has a large fleet of F-4 aircraft, via a Greek company registered under the name Tassos Karras SA in Votanikos, near central Athens." The authorities were unable to locate a British national listed as the company's owner.

Iran's fleet of the twin-engine, all-weather, supersonic jet has been active since the 1960s, and was heavily utilized during the Iran-Iraq war.

Israel's Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the report.

Open gallery view Iranian F-4 E Phantom II. Credit: Iranian Air Force website