MOSCOW, April 22 (JTA) — Russian officials are busily denouncing nuclear ties to Iran, but allegations about these ties will not go away. Georgi Kaurov, a spokesman for Russia’s Nuclear Energy Ministry, said Russia has not sold any nuclear arms to other countries. “It’s pure disinformation. All nuclear ammunition is cataloged and we can account for every device,” Kaurov told Russia’s Interfax news agency last week. Earlier this month, a report in the Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post alleged that Russia or one of the former Soviet republics exported two nuclear devices to Iran in the early 1990s. A spokesman for the Russian government dismissed the Israeli newspaper report as “nonsense.” The U.S. Defense Department said that it has “no evidence whatsoever” that Iran acquired several nuclear warheads in the early 1990s from a former Soviet republic. Meanwhile, Russia’s acting prime minister, Sergei Kiriyenko, said last week that while he opposes transfer of military technology to Iran or Libya, both countries “are future markets and whoever goes there now will in the future have a strong foothold.” The remark came after U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin confirmed a USA Today report that there is an “informal list” of 20 Russian governmental agencies that receive “extra scrutiny” by the United States because of suspected dealings with Iran. Rubin said there is currently no ban on assistance to those agencies but that the U.S. is “extremely concerned and quite troubled” by reports that Iran has received missile technology from Russia. Rubin refused to name any of the Russian agencies on the list but did say it does not include the Russian Space Agency.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
