Russia Says It Plans to Proceed With Sale of Submarines to Iran
The Russian government has informed the Bush Administration that it intends to proceed with a disputed $750-million sale of submarines to Iran, the State Department said Friday.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that the United States continues to oppose the deal, which would make Iran the only Persian Gulf state with submarines in its arsenal.
Last week at the United Nations, Russian Foreign Minister Andrei V. Kozyrev told reporters that Russia planned to make the sale, involving up to three diesel vessels, because it needs the money and hopes to diversify the markets for its weaponry. Acting Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger told Kozyrev that Washington objects to the sale.
The following day, a Russian government spokesman in Moscow said that the deal had fallen through because of a disagreement with Iran over financial arrangements. The latest Russian statement that the sale is back on track came in response to a U.S. government request for clarification.
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