(Telegraph-UK) Itai Mushekwe and Harriet Alexander - Iran has struck a secret deal with Zimbabwe to mine its untapped uranium reserves in a move to secure raw material for its steadily expanding nuclear program. "Iran secured the exclusive uranium rights last month when Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Didymus Mutasa visited Tehran," said a Zimbabwean government source. In return, Iran will supply Zimbabwe with desperately needed oil to keep its faltering economy moving. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, visited Zimbabwe last week to show his support for Mugabe. At a lavish official dinner in his honor on Thursday, Ahmadinejad blasted what he termed "expansionist countries" for exerting "satanic pressures on the people of Zimbabwe." Any deal to supply Iran is likely to put Zimbabwe in breach of current UN sanctions on Iran.
2010-04-26 11:16:36Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive