In 1998, despite the fact that Israel was called an “illegal state” and a “parasite” by Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, there was a controversy when it was reported that Israel and Iran were in fact involved in some type of business dealings. What was the controversy?
A. California pistachio growers were unhappy that Israel was importing most of its pistachios from Iran. Israel claimed that it was importing its pistachios from England and Germany, which was suspicious as these countries do not produce pistachios. And as Israeli wholesaler Moshe Mussafi stated, “It’s no secret. The taste [of the Iranian nut] is better.”
B. Israel was reported to have sold antitank guns and shells to Iran for use against the regime of Saddam Hussein of Iraq. Israel denied the claim, but Iraqi newspapers printed pictures of unexploded shells launched from Iran toward Baghdad that had Hebrew writing on them.
C. While Israel had been a major importer of Iranian oil under the regime of the Shah, it was assumed that this trade had ended with the Iranian revolution in 1979. However, the New York Times reported in April 1998 that despite the Ayatollah Khomeini’s reference to Israel as the “Little Satan,” he had allowed Israel to continue purchasing Iranian oil as Israel paid with American dollars, which were very valuable to the Islamic government of Iran.
D. Iran was the world’s largest producer and exporter of pomegranates. However, in 1998, the crop suffered from a disease known as Alternaria Fruit Rot, which decimated the harvest. Concerned that their enemy Iraq, the second largest exporter of pomegranates, would overtake the market, Iran secretly purchased 10,000 kilograms of Israeli pomegranates which they relabeled as Iranian in order to fulfill their outstanding orders.
E. In July 1998, a strike by Mifal Ha-Ashpah, the Israeli waste removal company, left garbage piling up in the streets, causing a serious health problem in the hot summer weather. The rat population proliferated, leading to the threat of epidemic diseases spread by the rats. Benjamin Netanyahu, serving in his first term as Israeli Prime Minister, secretly met with Iranian president Mohammad Khatami in Aqaba, Jordan, to arrange for the purchase of 20,000 Persian cats to use for the control of the rats. The cats were flown into Israel on board an El Al flight dubbed “Operation El Ali Katz.”