Russia has promised Israel it will not sign any more arms with Iran, but added that it was determined to follow through on its planned sale of nuclear reactors to Tehran.
Russia Deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Posovalyak, currently on a visit to Israel, told Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin that the reactors were intended for civilian use only, an Israeli official said.
Posovalyak compared the two nuclear reactors it plans to sell Iran to those the United States is offering North Korea in exchange for freezing its nuclear program.
Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia has become one of Iran’s main arms suppliers, selling conventional weapons, tanks and anti-aircraft systems to the Shi’ite Muslim regime.
Rabin cited Iran’s financing and training of terror groups and suicide bomber, whose main aim is to stop the peace process.
“Iran is a leader in the war against the peace process and is doing all it can to torpedo it,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office quoted Rabin as telling the visiting Russian dignitary.
Israel has been trying to contain Iran’s military buildup and is particularly concerned about its effort to acquire nuclear weapons.
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.
