JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli and Iranian nuclear officials participated together in a nuclear non-proliferation conference last month in Cairo, according to the Israel Atomic Energy Commission.
The representatives sat at the table during the regional dialogue but did not have any real "dialogue or interaction," a commission spokeswoman said Thursday.
Iran denied the report, which broke in an Australian newspaper last week and became widespread after the Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported on it Thursday, stressing that the sides did not meet privately.
The meeting reportedly took place Sept. 29 and 30 at the Four Seasons Hotel in the Egyptian capital. Other participants reportedly attending the meeting were representatives of the Arab League, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, as well as European and American officials.
It was held under the auspices of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, an unofficial forum established by the Australian and Japanese governments.
During one of the meetings, the Iranian representative asked the Israeli representative, "Do you or do you not have nuclear weapons?" Ha’aretz reported, citing unnamed meeting participants. The Israeli envoy did not answer.
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