A Uranium Allegation
According to press reports, a three-page document issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry alleges that Bolivia and Venezuela have sold uranium to Iran for use in that country's nuclear program. The document is to be presented by Israeli Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Dani Ayalon at the 39th Regular Session of the OAS which will be held the first week of June in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
According to Israeli officials the document, which reportedly analyzes the growing relations between Iran and countries in the region, was not meant to be public. Further detail about its content has not been revealed.
The government of right-wing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, which recently took power in Israel, stated that while it was in no condition to prove the allegations in the document, it is nonetheless concerned by what it views as a "strategic alliance" between Bolivian President Evo Morales, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
“Iran is trying to take positions in Latin America, and unfortunately we see a very close cooperation between Ahmadinejad and the radical regime of Hugo Chávez, and this is something that should worry everyone,” stated Ayalon in an interview with Spain’s Efe wire service.
Bolivian Government officials have strenuously denied the accusations and assure that even though their relationship with the Iranian government is growing closer, they do not support Iran’s nuclear program. Bolivian President Evo Morales broke diplomatic relations with Israel in January to protest Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
“If for some reason there is a document issued by any security agency of Israel that has pointed out the existence of any evidence, then we should simply suspect that the Israeli intelligence agencies are suffering from a severe capacity crisis, and for that matter of a crisis in work ethic. If this is so, we should simply declare any Israeli agency an agency of inept and incompetent clowns, for only a clown can imagine such an atrocity,” declared Juan Ramon Quintana, Bolivia’s minister of the presidency.
Luis Alberto Echazu, Bolivian minister of Mining Industries, declared that there was no precise proof of any geological deposits of uranium, much less of its exploitation.