Iran, Israel cooperated to destroy Iraq in the 1980s, says former UK minister Jack Straw

Iran and Israel cooperated militarily to destroy Iraq during the Iraq-Iran war of the 1980s, former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has claimed.

Speaking to Al-Araby TV, Straw said Israel provided information about military sites in western Iraq, while Iran gave Israel information on Iraq's Tammuz nuclear reactor, leading to its destruction in an Israeli strike.

The cooperation took place during a time when arms exports from Israel to Iran totalled around $2 billion.

The Iraq-Iran war, which began in September 1980 with Iraq's invasion of its neighbour, ended in 1988 when Iran accepted a UN-brokered truce, with as many as 1 million people dying in the war.

In his interview with Al-Araby TV, Straw also said he believes the Middle East is "cursed" by oil, which will eventually run out, and should end their dependency on the fossil fuels.

Straw served as British foreign secretary between 2001-2006, acting as a key figure in Tony Blair's government during the early years of the 'War on Terror'.

In a previous interview with Al-Araby TV, Straw refused to apologise for his role in the 2003 Iraq invasion, saying that his decision was based on information available at the time.

The UK based its decision to oust Saddam Hussein from power in 2003 on intelligence which claimed that the Iraqi dictator was a threat to regional stability.

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