Premier Yitzhak Shamir received assurances from Washington this week that the Reagan Administration was not trying to scapegoat Israel in the Iran arms sales-Contra affair.
Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres confirmed this to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee Tuesday. He also disclosed that he sent a message of his own to Vice President George Bush reiterating Israel’s denial that it was involved in the transfer of proceeds from Iranian weapons purchases to the Nicaraguan rebels, known as Contras, or that Israel initiated the U.S. arms sales to Iran in 1985.
The impression that Israel was the prime mover in the arms sales was contained in a briefing memorandum to President Reagan by his then National Security Advisor, Admiral John Poindexter, released by the White House last Friday.
Israel was also agitated by reports in the U.S. media attributed to Administration and Congressional sources, that it was shipping weapons to the Contras at its own initiative in 1985, unknown to the U.S. until “detected” by American intelligence.
Israeli diplomatic sources in Washington were quoted by Israel Radio as expressing concern “that Israel was now being made a scapegoat” by the White House.
A REALIZATION BY THE WHITE HOUSE
Peres confirmed Tuesday that a message from the White House was conveyed orally to Shamir by U.S. Ambassador Thomas Pickering Sunday assuring Israel that the documents released last week were not intended as criticism of Israel.
A State Department official said Monday that the White House realized after the documents were released that they were potentially damaging to U.S.-Israel relations.
A State Department source was quoted in the American media Tuesday as saying that “Tom Pickering was told to tell Shamir that the White House release of the documents was not an attempt to point fingers and accuse Israel of anything, but that so much partial and incorrect information had been leaked out and the President had a commitment to get everything out to the public, that the White House felt it was important to get them on the record.”
The Poindexter memo stated that an emissary from Peres, who was Prime Minister at the time, brought to Washington a plan to sell weapons to Iran as a means of securing the release of American hostages held by pro-Iranian elements in Lebanon and for mutually beneficial strategic interests of Israel and the U.S.
The memorandum reportedly was prepared by Lt. Col. Oliver North, an aide to Poindexter at the time. The implication was that the memo prompted Reagan to issue his “intelligence finding” of January 17, 1986, authorizing the covert shipment of American weapons to Iran.
Peres, in his appearance before the Knesset committee, blasted the Israeli media for “drawing fire” down on Israel by publishing reports of its role in the Iran arms sale and transfer of funds to the Contras. Israel has maintained that it facilitated the arms shipments solely at the request of the Reagan Administration to help an ally obtain the release of its hostages. It been has vigorously denied any Contra connection.
The developments of the past week caused severe embarrassment both in Washington and Jerusalem at a time when U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Murphy is visiting the region to explore ways to advance the stalled peace process and to restore American credibility with the Arab states seriously disturbed by the arms sales to Iran.
Murphy visited Jordan, Israel and Egypt last week. He is due back in Israel Tuesday or Wednesday. The White House announced, meanwhile, that Shamir will go to Washington for a meeting with Reagan February 18, to be followed a week later by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.
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.
