Top Israeli Ex-Officials, Analysts Praise Iran Deal

Israeli Stock Market Soars on Deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is predictably livid about the P5+1 deal with Iran, railing at the interim pact and vowing intense lobbying against a permanent deal.

Netanyahu’s position and Israel’s position are two different things, however, and as he and his political allies gripe, Israeli analysts and top former officials are loving this deal.

Ehud Yaari praised the pact, saying it achieved much more than an Israeli attack on Iran could have. Former Israeli Military Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin said it was a promising first step, mocking the Netanyahu government by adding that Israel acted like “Iran had gotten permission to build a bomb.”

Yadlin also dismissed predictions of the deal collapsing, saying Iran “didn’t sign onto this in order to breach it,” and that it would likely stand at least until the end of the six month interim period.

No one liked the deal so much as Israeli investors, however, as the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange was up on hopes that despite official comments, the deal really did mean the prospect of a major war between Israel and Iran is quite a bit less likely.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.