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U.S. Official: Israel Objected to Arms Sale to Gulf States Following Iran Deal

(Ha'aretz) Barak Ravid - A senior U.S. security official said that during the visit of U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter to Israel last week, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and other senior Israeli officials expressed opposition to the sale of advanced weapon systems to Gulf states in the wake of the nuclear deal with Iran. "There were some key capabilities that the Israelis rather the Gulf States not have," he said. "It is a discussion that started before the Iran deal." He said that the U.S. is interested in amplifying cooperation to prevent weapons smuggling from Iran to Hizbullah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, and that American sanctions over Iranian support of terror would continue. Moreover, the official said, "We are not expecting Iran to change its behavior radically because of this deal. We don't think Iran has transformed and that their leadership wants to create peace. We don't look at them as the solution. We hope maybe something like it happens in the future but we have no illusions about Iran's behavior."
2015-08-04 00:00:00
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