Israel denied that it has sold arms to Iran during the last three years, a direct refutation of West German press reports last week, believed inspired by government sources here that Israel was an important supplier of weapons to Iran and plans to self that country 200 anti-tank guns this summer.
The denial was made by an Israeli spokesman during a meeting between the pro-Israel West German publisher, Axel Springer and Premier Yitzhak Shamir in Jerusalem. It was widely published in Springer’s mass circulation dailies yesterday. The denial covered only the last three years. The spokesman did not say that Israel never sold arms to Iran or whether it intends to in the future.
The appearance of reports in leading West German dailies last week about Israeli-Iranian arms deals were viewed as an attempt by Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s government to gain public support for the planned German arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Government sources argue that one reason for the controversial arms deal is that the Saudis are menaced by Iran.
Kohl has charged on one occasion that Israeli arms shipments to Iran were prolonging that country’s war with Iraq, and it was therefore urgent for Bonn to supply arms to the moderate, pro-Western countries in the region. (By David Kantor)
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