THE CRISIS IN THE WHITE HOUSE : Israelis, Meese Disagree Over Who Approved Arms Shipment
WASHINGTON — Israel acted on its own in the late summer of 1985 to send U.S.-supplied arms to Iran, although the U.S. government “condoned†the shipment after the fact, Atty. Gen. Edwin L. Meese III said Tuesday, touching off a long-distance argument with the Israeli government, which said the arms were sent at Washington’s request.
Although sources in both countries have said privately that Israel was involved in the U.S. arms-and-hostages deal with Iran, this was the first direct confirmation of the pivotal role played by the Jerusalem government.
The question of whether or not the United States gave prior approval to the Israeli action could be crucial because under U.S. law, the penalty for unauthorized diversion of U.S. weapons to another country can be a suspension of foreign aid. Israel is by far the largest recipient of U.S. aid, which has played an important role in stabilizing the country’s troubled economy.
Reporters Briefed
Briefing reporters at the White House, Meese said Israel sent weapons to Iran in either August or September of 1985 and again in November, although the November shipment apparently was later returned to Israel.
“To my knowledge, nobody (in the U.S. government) authorized that particular shipment specifically,†Meese said, referring to the August-September transaction.
“The Israelis did it on their own?†he was asked.
“That is my understanding, yes,†Meese replied.
“It was, however, after the fact at least, condoned by the United States government,†he added. This occurred as the Administration was secretly moving to cultivate relations with moderates in Iran and free U.S. hostages in Lebanon.
Meese’s comments hit with bombshell force in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin, following a two-hour meeting that ended early today, issued a statement confirming the arms transfers but insisting that they were made “upon the request of the U.S. government.â€
Shamir’s spokesman, Avi Pazner, refused to elaborate on the one-paragraph statement, leaving unanswered the question of who, according to Israel, requested the shipments.
A U.S. government source has told The Times that Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, a National Security Council official, authorized the arms shipments without the approval of President Reagan.
Meese said that North, who was dismissed Tuesday from his post on the NSC staff, exceeded his authority on another phase of the arms transaction when he arranged to transfer to anti-government rebels in Nicaragua some of the proceeds from the Iranian weapons sales.
But Meese, who said his investigation is not yet complete, did not say what role North, White House national security adviser John M. Poindexter or his predecessor, Robert C. McFarlane, played in the Israeli arms deliveries prior to Reagan’s approval last Jan. 17 of a waiver of the U.S. arms embargo. That action permitted direct shipments this year of U.S. weapons to Tehran.
Meese and the Israeli government also disagreed sharply about the diversion of funds to the Nicaraguan rebels, known as contras. Meese said the money represented some of the difference between the price that Israeli arms dealers received from Iran and the lower price that the United States charged for the weapons. The attorney general said that the money clearly did not belong to the U.S. government and that Israel might have had a legitimate claim to ownership.
Meese said he did not know if the Israelis involved in the complex financial deal were government officials or private individuals.
In their statement, Shamir, Peres and Rabin said Iran paid for the weapons directly “to a Swiss bank in accordance with instructions from the American representative.â€
“These funds did not pass through Israel,†the statement said. “The government of Israel was surprised to learn that supposedly a portion of these funds was transferred to the contras. If such a transaction took place, it had nothing to do with Israel and the government of Israel has no knowledge of it.
“Israel did not serve, and would not have served, as a channel for such a transaction,†the government said.
However, an Israeli businessman with good Iranian contacts said last week--prior to the latest revelations in Washington and Jerusalem--that billionaire Saudi Arabian businessman Adnan Khashoggi arranged for the Iranians to pay into a Swiss bank account for the arms they got through Israel. The source, who asked not to be identified, said the bank account was run by Israeli arms dealer Jacob Nimrodi.
Israel has been maneuvering to avoid the fallout from the Iran arms deal ever since the previously secret transactions surfaced earlier this month. The Israeli press has said Israel is in danger of being blamed in the United States for helping to get the Americans into what has become a debacle over the arms shipments.
A high-ranking Israeli defense source said the issue certainly will produce a new controversy in Israel because of Meese’s report that money went to the contras.
‘A Different Story’
“Selling arms to Iran is one thing, and getting involved in that internal (U.S.) debate and quarrel in Nicaragua is a different story,†the source said.
Although Israeli officials have never publicly acknowledged it, there have been frequent reports of Israeli aid for the contras. Israeli officials concede that Israel had very close relations with the Nicaraguan regime of deposed dictator Anastasio Somoza, stemming from Jerusalem’s gratitude to Somoza for giving sanctuary to European Jews during the Holocaust. In the 1950s, Nicaragua was the first Central American country to obtain weapons from Israel.
Norman Kempster reported from Washington and Dan Fisher from Jerusalem.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
