Last update - 00:00 22/07/2007
Iran dismisses reported accord with Syria on military and nuclear aid
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent and DPA
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman on Sunday dismissed as a media game recent reports of a secret arms deal with Syria allegedly made in return for an agreement that Damascus would not hold peace talks with Israel.
Mohammad Ali Hosseini refused to provide confirmation of the deal and questioned how the media would know about it if it was confidential.
"This is a media game," said Hosseini during his weekly news briefing. "It is not confirmed."
The London-based Arabic-language newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported Saturday that Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had pledged to help Syria conduct nuclear research during a visit to Damascus earlier this week. According to the report, Iran also pledged to provide Syria with $1 billion in military aid to purchase arms from Russia and North Korea.
The Ashraq Al-Awsat report was filed by the newspaper's internationally respected Iranian correspondent Ali Nouri Zadeh, and is based comments made by an Iranian source who followed the talks in Damascus.
It stated that Syria would purchase 400 Russian tanks, 18 MIG-31 fighter jets, and additional up-to-date military equipment.
Ahmadinejad also promised to train Syrian air force and naval officers in Iran, and pledged to construct a factory in Syria that would produce medium-range missiles. Iran will also supply Syria's navy with missiles, and provide the Syrian army with Iranian-made tanks and armored vehicles.
Iran also pledged to continue supporting Syria's position on affairs concerning Lebanon.
The report caused a political storm in Israel, with Minister of Strategic Threats Avigdor Lieberman calling for the establishment of an emergency national unity government in light of the strategic threat posed by the tightening ties between Syria and Iran.
Analysis: