The Italian job: How one of Israel’s closest friends in Europe is helping arm Iran
A depressing and extraordinary piece of writing in today’s Wall Street Journal details how Italy has for years been involved in developing a trade and technology relationship with Iran, including contracts with the Revolutionary Guard and other organs of the Iranian regime which could aid its nuclear weapons programme.
The author, Giulio Meotti, illustrates his broader theme with a quotation from the website of the Italian-Iranian Chamber of Commerce which says: “Iran and Italy were rivals and two great powerhouses in ancient times, but in the contemporary world they are great partners.”
Such flagrant disregard for the implications of this relationship is echoed by both senior politicians and leading companies and is especially worrying because Italy is widely seen as a strong supporter of Israel, a country which the Iranian regime aims to destroy.
As a sign of how problematic the relationship is likely to be, the author quotes Foreign Minister Franco Frattini making the extraordinary assertion that the West should “avoid those [sanctions against Iran] that are connected with Iranian national pride.”
He also explains the context of such remarks as follows:
“Despite international sanctions against Iran, Italian exports to the Islamic Republic rose almost 17% in 2008 to €2.17 billion, according to the Italian statistical office. During that same year, overall trade also rose almost 17% to €7 billion, representing more than a quarter of the European Union’s total trade with Iran. For the past three years, Italy has been Iran’s No. 1 European trading partner.”
The article details examples of companies involved in trade and technology relationships with Tehran such as the development of satellite communications systems. Some such relationships could, the author argues, easily be diverted to military purposes, including facilitating Iran’s nuclear weapons programme.
The article concludes by saying the following:
“Italy is like the two-faced Roman god Janus. Rhetorically, Rome is part of the Western front against the Iranian regime. Mr. Berlusconi even called Ahmadinejad “Hitler.” But when it comes to translating this rhetoric into foreign policy, business interests trump everything else.
“Next month, Mr. Berlusconi, who claims to be a great friend of the Jewish state, will speak in the Israeli parliament. It would be a good opportunity for him to prove his friendship by finally announcing tough economic sanctions against Iran.”
To read this very important article in full, click here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703510304574625620914295450.html
Tags: Israel
January 15th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Indeed a very good article in the WSJ. It seems Germany follows closely behind Italy in trade with Iran. With friends like that, the Americans will struggle to put effective sanctions in place.
January 16th, 2010 at 3:14 am
Very timely pointer to an extremely disconcerting international state of affairs.
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:05 pm
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