The government announced Thursday that Israel will agree to any American request to cooperate in current and future investigations into the shipment of U.S. arms to Iran and the diversion of the sale proceeds to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
The decision was made at a meeting Wednesday between Premier Yitzhak Shamir, Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin. There has been no official request from Washington for Israeli cooperation in the probes but such requests are anticipated.
Israel is expected to give American investigators access to those officials involved in the arms deal which Israel has admitted undertaking at the specific request of the Reagan Administration. Israel has denied any involvement in or knowledge of the transfer of monies to the Contras.
Israel cooperated with the U.S. in the case of Jonathan Pollard, the civilian U.S. Navy analyst convicted last year of spying for Israel. That case was cited as the precedent for future cooperation in the Iran arms affair.
Reporters who asked if the government would allow Shamir, Peres and Rabin to be questioned by American investigators were told that it was a “hypothetical” question.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
