From  :Report: Israel, Iran holding debt talks
By Matti Friedman, Associated Press Writer | December 5, 2006
JERUSALEM --While Iran continues to deny that Israel has the right to exist, representatives of the two countries are holding clandestine talks in Europe to settle an old Israeli debt, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
Iran is still owed hundreds of millions of dollars for oil it supplied to Israel in the years before the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the two countries, now sworn enemies, are holding contacts meant to settle the debt, according to the report in the daily Haaretz citing anonymous Israeli and Swiss officials involved in the negotiations.(link) Easy problem here I think. Israel owes Iran lots of money due to the fact that the two countries worked together for so long before the mullahs took over in '79. Iran needs money to work on their nuclear ambitions and to try and wipe Israel off the map. Should Israel pay up? Giving the length of time involved, it would be hard to get someone in this country to have to pay you after 27-odd years. But on a more personal level, is it in Israel's best (national) interests to pay the regime that wants (the most) to destroy them?
If it were me and I had a say in the matter, I'd tell them to take a hike, unless they were bringing some serious negotiations to the table. Given Iran's track record with the truth, and the U.N.'s track record with holding countries to the truth, even that probably wouldn't be enough.
It shows the character of the two countries well though: Israel who is threatened and attacked at every turn by Iran is holding talks; Iran who thinks Israel shouldn't exist, wants to wipe them off the map and continually supplies the enemies of is asking for money. Make of that what you will, but it's easy to see which country ('s character) is stronger.
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Reason amongst the dhimmikrauts
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