A French military delegation, now in Iraq, is studying the possibility of selling Mirage III and Mirage V jets to that country, it was reliably reported here today. But the Iraqi government is insisting, as a pre-condition of such a sale, that France continue its embargo on the sale of Mirage jets to Israel.
The French embargo on arms shipments to the Middle East applied only to Israel and the Arab countries that took part in last June’s war, of which Iraq was one. Should the embargo be lifted on Iraq, the French Government could also lift it on Israel, informed quarters said.
M. Salomon Siderich, an official of the Franco-Israel Alliance, a group of Jewish and non-Jewish personalities interested in furthering relations between France and Israel, said today he had reason to believe the embargo on arms shipments to Israel would be lifted soon. He made this statement after conferring with members of the French cabinet, including M. Schumann, Minister of Scientific Research, and with members of the Gaullist party center.
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.