Israeli intel: Venezuela ferried weapons to Syria, providing uranium to Iran
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
JERUSALEM Ñ Israeli intelligence reported that Venezuela and Bolivia are helping Iran avoid dependence on Russian uranium.
The Israeli intelligence community has also determined that Venezuela agreed to serve as a conduit for Iranian weapons shipments to Syria and Hizbullah. The missiles and rockets were believed to have been transported by Iranian civilian aircraft from Teheran to Caracas, and from there to Damascus.
In 2009, Boliva and Venezuela, which allowed the opening of Iranian embassies, severed diplomatic relations with Israel in connection with the war against the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.
Western diplomatic sources said both South American states have rejected Israeli feelers for reconciliation.
"There are reports that Venezuela supplies Iran with uranium for its nuclear program," the intelligence assessment, included in a Foreign Ministry report, said. "Bolivia also supplies uranium to Iran."
Over the last two years, Venezuela has become a strategic ally of Teheran. Bolivia has denied any uranium exports to Iran.
The Israeli intelligence assessment said Iran has sought secret nuclear suppliers to avoid dependency on Russia. Moscow has been the prime contractor of Teheran's first nuclear reactor, and in late 2007 began nuclear fuel shipments to Iran under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"Since [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad's rise to power, Teheran has been promoting an aggressive policy aimed at bolstering its ties with Latin American countries with the declared goal of 'bringing America to its knees,'" the three-page Foreign Ministry report said.
The sources said Boliva and Venezuela, encouraged by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, were the most likely allies of Teheran's nuclear program. The sources said both South American states, regarded as anti-American, have increased their cooperation with Iran on military and security issues.
The Foreign Ministry report, which was leaked to the Israeli and foreign media, marked the first time that South American states were cited as helping Iran's nuclear program.
In June 2009, Israel plans to lobby South American states against cooperation with Iran. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his deputy, Danny Ayalon, were scheduled to make separate trips to South America over the next few weeks.