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Tuesday, August 17, 2004

South Africa selling uranium to Iran

South Africa, Iran discuss defense cooperation

South Africa's Defense Minister Patrick "Terror" Lekota and his Iranian counterpart Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani met on Monday to discuss an expansion of mutual cooperation between the two countries, especially in the domain of defense, the Islamic Republic's news agency (IRNA) reported.

At the conclusion of the meeting the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation, which included an arrangement for South Africa to sell uranium to Iran, Channel 1 TV reported.

A South African spokesman for the Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the claim.

SA Defense Minister Lekota stressed that making peaceful use of nuclear energy "is the legitimate right of the Islamic Republic," the IRNA reported on Tuesday.