It now appears that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s secret trip to Russia was to provide the names of the Russian scientists believed working with Iran towards achieving nuclear independence. According to the British Times report, the prime minister provided names and evidence to support his claims, handing over the information to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Since last month’s clandestine travel to Russia, there has been speculation as to the purpose of the prime minister’s mission, with some questioning the validity of reports of the trip, which was eventually confirmed. The chain of events led to the uncovering a number of untrue statements released by the prime minister’s military secretary, who took upon himself to mislead the media. He became the scapegoat in the affair, absorbing the wrath of the media who accused him of misleading the public and acting without authority when he released misleading and untrue messages pertaining to the prime minister’s whereabouts.

Some reports indicated the prime minister was working to pressure Moscow to cancel planned advanced weapons sales to Syria, with the realization such weapons would eventually find themselves in the hands of Hizbullah and Iran, and significantly shift the regional balance of power. The British report now adds the names of the scientists to the purpose of the mission, with Israel Radio on Sunday morning releasing a report that “senior sources in Jerusalem” have confirmed the validity of the report.

(Article written on the first day Chol Hamoed in Eretz Yisrael – Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)