State Department Says It Has No Evidence Israel Sold Spare Parts for American-made Bombers to Iran

The State Department says that it has “no evidence” to support a report that Israel secretly sold Iran spare parts and tires for American-built F-4 fighter bombers last October to help Iran in its war against Iraq and at a time when American hostages were being held by Iran.

According to a report last Thursday night on ABC News, former Iranian President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr said in an interview in Paris with ABC that he had been opposed to any deal with Israel but had been overruled by religious leaders close to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. “I was opposed. I said: If we have to buy arms from the Israelis, why not make peace with the Iraqis? It would be much better,” Bani-Sadr said.

Former Carter Administration officials and diplomatic sources said over the wekend that the Israelis yielded to American pressure not to continue their military relationship with Iran until the hostages were freed. A spokesman for the Israel Embassy said his country does not provide information on purchases or sale of weapons. At the time of the alleged sale, the U.S. had imposed an embargo on the sale of all goods to Iran.

Responding to questions from reporters, State Department Dean Fischer stated last Friday: “We have no evidence that any U.S.-origin equipment or spare parts subject to our control has been supplied to Iran by the government of Israel. The government of Israel has been fully informed of our policy on shipment of U.S.-origin materials to Iran both in regard to the hostage crisis and the subsequent Iran-Iraq hostilities. We have received assurances from the government of Israel that no military equipment or spare parts subject to U.S. control have been shipped to Iran.”

Asked whether the U.S. is conducting any review of this matter, Fischer said: “I am not aware of any formal review of this in progress.”