An expert panel monitoring United Nations sanctions on Iran says Syria continues to be the main destination for Iranian arms shipments in violation of a U.N. Security Council ban on weapons exports by Tehran.

The new assessment said the panel investigated three large illegal shipments of Iranian weapons over the past year.

Reuters quotes the confidential report as saying “two of these cases involved [Syria], as were the majority of cases inspected by the panel during its previous mandate, underscoring that Syria continues to be the central party to illicit Iranian arms transfers.”

The third shipment involved rockets that Britain said last year were headed for Taliban militants in Afghanistan.

A security council diplomat confirmed the report also described Iran's efforts to evade sanctions by renaming ships to obscure their identity and to use front companies to procure banned items.