-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Russia committed to Iranian arms deal Bush administration threatens sanctions against Moscow if sale occurs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- By Jon Dougherty © 2001 WorldNetDaily.com Russian officials say they are committed to completing an expensive arms deal with Iran, despite U.S. objections and threats by Washington to sanction Moscow if the arms deal -- worth a reported $7 billion -- goes through. "Iran is an independent country under no bans or embargoes," Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov told reporters yesterday, and as such, Russia has a right to engage in "active talks" to sell weapons to the Islamic republic. But Klebanov was careful to note that the systems being offered to Tehran were defensive in nature. "We will not sell any offensive weapons," he said. U.S. analysts disagree, however, and say that Russia is considering selling a number of systems that could be used for offensive purposes, such as Su-25 jet fighters, submarines and ballistic missile systems. Klebanov downplayed the impending deal, noting that as of yesterday, "no new contracts that were not already signed under the by-now infamous Gore-Chernomyrdin agreement have yet been reached." The agreement Klebanov referenced was a 1995 pact made between then-Vice President Al Gore and former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin in what some U.S. analysts called a subversion of The Iraq-Iran Nonproliferation Act. The agreement, which was made in secret and purposely withheld from Congress at Chernomyrdin's request, involved the sale of a third Russian-made Kilo class diesel-electric submarine to Iran, as well as "naval mines" and other military gear ostensibly prohibited by law. Russian Kilo class submarine of the type sold to Iran. The law calls for the administration to level sanctions against Russia if Moscow sells weapons to either nation. Reports said that Gore promised Chernomyrdin that President Clinton would not impose those sanctions. Nevertheless, then -- as now -- Russia appears unwilling to heed Washington's warnings. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami in Moscow, promised that Russia would sell Iran more weapons, as well as help Tehran finish building its Russian-designed nuclear power plant at Bushehr. The plant, begun years ago, was virtually destroyed during the eight-year Iraq-Iran war. Funding problems and lack of technical expertise have held the project up since then. U.S. officials believe Iran will use the plant to produce weapons-grade materials for nuclear weapons and place them atop new ballistic missiles Tehran has either already developed or is working to develop and deploy. The Bush administration has cautioned against Russian weapons sales to Iran and this week threatened to impose sanctions against Moscow if the deal goes through. Moscow replied by noting that its weapons sales did not violate any international agreements and that specifically the reactor deal would not include technology that would assist Iran in its reported quest for nuclear weapons. Putin has ordered the Russian defense industry to seek out and exploit new customers for advanced Russian weaponry, especially in the Mideast and Africa, to alleviate the chronic government funding shortages that are plaguing Russia and preventing it from developing its own next-generation weapons systems. Last year, Russia's arms sales centered mostly around purchases by India and China; 90 percent of the $4 billion earned by Russia last year in arms sales came from contracts signed with New Delhi and Beijing. The $4 billion figure was a record high for Russia for the 1990s, but still well behind the world's number one arms merchant, the United States. Britain, last year, was the second-largest arms dealer; France was third, and Russia was fourth. By comparison, reports say Moscow exported about $20 billion worth of weapons annually throughout the 1980s, though Klebanov warned that figure could be misleading. "We effectively are selling more now than during the Soviet times," he said, noting that many of the weapons exported during the Cold War were provided to client states on credit or for free. Moscow wants its defense industry to be at least the No. 2 arms supplier by 2006, though Klebanov has admitted that goal may be too ambitious. "We can take second place, although political and financial conditions of [the] arms trade are becoming more difficult," he said yesterday. He also said because of Russia's diminished cash position, Moscow was unable to offer potential client governments payment deferments and discounts like the U.S. and other leading arms traders can. Indeed, such inability has led to Moscow's refusal to upgrade Syria's sagging military, which is rife with outmoded Soviet-era equipment in dire need of replacement and repair. Syria, suffering its own cash shortage from economic troubles, cannot afford to pay for modern fighters, missiles and other systems and had asked Moscow to defer payments over several years. Tensions between the U.S. and Russia have escalated in the past week, following Washington's decision March 22 to expel 50 Russian diplomats suspected of acting as intelligence officers conducting spying against the United States. Russia responded by expelling 50 U.S. diplomats in a move reminiscent of the Cold War. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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