tehran, October 23: Bitter enemies Iran and Israel, whose normal discourse is that of threat and counter-threat, engaged in a rare face-to-face exchange of views at a nuclear disarmament conference in Cairo, Israeli media reported yesterday.
Tehran vigorously denied the reported contact, but Israeli officials confirmed that representatives from both countries had questioned one another at a conference last month, organised by the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament.
Iran’s delegate used the opportunity to ask the Israeli representative whether the Jewish state had nuclear weapons. This enquiry met with a smile but no answer, according to a report in yesterday’s Haaretz. Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear arms, though always refuses to confirm or deny it.
–Agencies