An Israeli minister close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the US will never attack Iran’s nuclear program and that Israel might act on its own.
“The United States will never attack the nuclear facilities in Iran. Israel must decide whether it will accept a nuclear Iran,” Tzachi Hanegbi, who currently serves as the minister for settlement affairs, told Israel’s Kan broadcaster. “Israel will be forced to act independently to remove this danger.”
Last month, Hanegbi threatened an attack on Iran’s nuclear program if the Biden Administration returns to the nuclear deal. The Likud minister’s comments are some of the most direct public threats made by an Israeli official.
While Hanegbi doesn’t have the power as the settlement minister to order an attack, threatening comments have also been coming from Israeli military officials. On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said a military option against Iran was still on the table for Israel.
Last week, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Avi Kohavi said he ordered the military to draw up fresh plans to attack Iran and expressed his opposition to the new US administration reviving the JCPOA.
The Israeli officials frame attacks on Iran as the only way to stop the Islamic Republic’s race towards a nuclear bomb. While Iranian officials have repeatedly said they have no interest in acquiring nuclear weapons, the Israelis point to recent increases in uranium enrichment and stockpiles of low-enriched uranium as evidence that they do seek a bomb.
The increased uranium enrichment and stockpiles have a civilian purpose and are also a direct result of the US withdrawing from the JCPOA in 2018. If the Biden administration lifts sanctions on Iran, Tehran would quickly comply with the JCPOA by scaling back its enrichment.
Israel will never attack Iran without approval of Washington. Which leads to the simple truth: Israel is a Pentagon/CIA asset. Israel is not the “tail wagging the dog”.
Why then does Israel never join in the United States’ middle eastern wars, even though Israel openly cheerleads for those wars?
Bush I explained that one very succinctly in 1991: the “fear” that if Israel gets involved, the Arab Street explodes and / or everyone else gets drawn in. In retrospect, it sounds like a divide and conquer strategy, the same one that was applied to the Arabs after WWI.
At the same time, we continually get involved in wars and provide other assistance for the benefit of Israel.
Strange puppetry there, where the supposed puppetmaster has to constantly exert itself on behalf of the alleged puppet, but the puppet never has to do anything.
Israel is not suicidal. It will scream and howler, but not get in danger. It could not get Lebanon when tiny Hezbollah got in the way. Israel just must make sure that US never leaves ME and stops funding Israel.
Thus pivot to Asia is not to Israel’s liking. Especially if US decides to tackle a perceived China gain in. Myanmar.
Of course. The point is that Israel is not a US puppet.
I do not believe many people are seriously arguing that Israel is US puppet.
At most, arguments of a symbiotic relationship can be made. Even then, for the symbiosis to retain its strength, internal US dynamic is at work to constantly feed the need for ME tensions. It just adjusts focus slightly once in a while to add more air to the combustion. And with the logical consequence of having our indispensable ally kept strong forever.
But as things go, situation is not shaping in its favor lately. Thus, internal tensions, and ever so increasing volume of shrill.
A symbiotic relationship is supposed to benefit both sides.
Not at al. It is an entanglement, designed that both parties cannot escape. It does not mean that engineers and enablers of the symbiotic relationship are fair, and want both parties to equally benefit. Quite to the contrary, US interests have not been served in this relationship. Special interests in US politics have been driving foreign policy.
Well, the United States would clearly realize a net benefit from getting loose from this particular entanglement, but if that were to happen, Israel would be in a world of hurt.
Doesn’t sound symbiotic to me.
Now, if you want to argue that the relationship only benefits, or more accurately, serves a few factions or interests in the US, granted, but those factions or interests or whatever you want to call them seem to have an outsized influence on US policy, considering that the United States seems unable to extricate itself from this particular entanglement. Even though it is a net burden.
Yes, exactly so. It is an entanglement that is carefully managed. The system we have lends itself to compromises, and this is the relationship for better or for worse. It has existed for decades.
Who benefits? Depends on the perspective of various stakeholders.
When I was guarding the naval airport at al Jubail in Saudi Arabia in early 1991, some of the photos I took came back entirely black when I turned them in to get developed. They were of two F-16s taking off. When I asked the film guy if he knew what the problem could be, he told me they’d been censored. The F-16s, he explained, were Israeli planes with US markings, and they were flying out of this airport instead of one of the combat air strips so that their pilots could be kept under wraps. The Israeli government wanted its guys to get some trigger time, but neither the Saudis nor any of the other Arab allies in Desert Storm would have been happy about it.
Would not surprise me. In other words, Israel wants to reap the benefits but not share the burdens.
Pentagon/CIA is an Israeli asset.
There I fixed it for you
The US President is content to be the First Vassal.
There is a contest among the British/Australian/Canadian to be the Second.
For Israel, the Iranian “nuclear armed boogie man” is and always will be a means to shake down the USA for more money. When JCPOA was implemented under Obama, part of the deal involved placating the petulant Israeli child with more aid.
So what happened when USA walked away?
Oh yeah.. Israel got to keep that aid.
Rinse and repeat.
Playing for the rabid internal audience of “settlers”and fulfilling its major role — disrupting peace in the region. This symbiosis of interests between US and Israel is difficult to.break. In order to take more Palestinian land, build more housing and have an economy to sustain them, it disrupts peace wherever possible. And then these threats are the gravy train for militaristic- financial oligarchy at home. This cycle is fed patriotically by Israel supporters within oligarchy, and cycle goes on.
It worked spectacularly in an era of weak countries in the region.
But the cycle is threatened. Israel is running out of weak countries to blame, and nudge US to dispense justice. Syria is tolerating abuse, as bigger game is afoot, and Russia will not allow big damage. Israel will not cross the red line there. Iraq is under US umbrella but not fully controlled, giving Israel jitters.
Besides Iran, Turkey and Egypt are getting on their feet very deliberately. ISIS did not pan out — did not create a territory cutting of Levant and Turkey from the Gulf. Saudis are getting coy, the whole Gulf is dancing to an unrecognizable tune. Israel can recognize some Russian and Chinese notes in it. Pakistan is getting its economy revamped by China. All in all — Israel dies not like it. The cycle of money making from US is in danger.
US has its own domestic crisis on hand — raging epidemics and economic crisis. So what remains to do?
At the moment — only Iran checks all the boxes for US. It cannot be allowed to develop in peace, it is the strategic geographic point of immense value in putting pressure on Russia and China. And given that US ran out of proxies and is now wading into direct confrontation with big powers — Iran is a sweet spot.
One can expect more US money to start flowing into ISIS “from the desert”, and Kurds will be as always obliging. But Israel knows that such flies can be nowadays swatted easily by Syria, Iraq and Turkey. Other then diversion and localized bleeding — they have no value.
Yet, Israel and its backers knows that the gravy train must go on, and big power conflict potential over Iran is the only game in town.
It would be a disaster for Israel to let the big power conflict slip into — say Asia. Myanmar for example. Loosing relevancy means loosing money, and losing money means slowing down land takeover, and giving Palestinians some breathing space. This is in itself perceived an existential struggle.
Thus US is to be kept in the Middle East, kept by Iran – the only country uniting regional conflict with big power struggle.
But US may have to reconsider its real value to US interests, especially as Gulf will do everything to stay out of conflict with Iran. And Israel braving it alone is a geopolitical joke.
When the Oslo talks were going on, and we has a tiny glimmer of hope for peace,Iran opposed peace talks.
Oh Jake, you are a incurable romantic!
Do not grasp at straws! Iran was not the only one being able to predict PRECISELY the outcome of that folly.
Two state solution was a fantasy, designed to allow “settlements” to expand, while Palestinian Authority provided police force to keep Palestinians under control.
Most clear thinking people saw this day one. So, two state solution is now impossible, while one state solution will be delayed until Palestinians are diminished in numbers.
At least, this is the plan. But US does not have the money to fund the project any more in its own. Some Arab money bags are now added to the list of donors — US dependencies UAE and Bahrain. Let us see how that pans out!
While negotiating peace, Arafat told his people that they would take what they could get now and take the rest later. PLO people took a donkey, put a star David on it, and urged a mob to beat it. Instead of preparing his people for peace, he taught hate and war. Iran should have stayed out of it, but they also have an agenda of hate.
And you know that for sure? And you know also of this heartbreaking tale of Palestinian cruelty and Israeli sainthood.
Do not love politics so much that it blinds you to reality. In fact the amount of cruelty dished out by Israelis against Palestinians on daily basis, year after year, decade after decade, has been the only constant in the ME.
Palestinians cannot take anything, and no agreement ever made was meant for them to get anything. Israel has all the power and intends to use it — no morality, ethics or international law will stand in the way.
In the long run, past out lifetime, Israeli sins will find them out. For now, they can enjoy and demure. But victims — they are not.
There are no saints, but I know for sure that Iran has threatened and would like to destroy Israel, based on their open statements and massing of proxy armies.
Covered a lot, but good thoughts!
Yes, a lot. In a culture with memory of fruit fly fostered by social and antisocial media, there is a frequent need of a reminder that things do not happen in a vacuum, and that there is a continuity in the universe, which to our peril we ignore.
Indeed!
All Israel can do is to make a movie attacking Iran…! Even then they need the US (Hollywood) help to make the special effects….! Lol…!
Yo, Dave,
You wrote:
“The Israeli officials frame attacks on Iran as the only way to stop the Islamic Republic’s race towards a nuclear bomb.”
Stop being part of the propaganda stream. You could have written:
” ‘race’ towards a nuclear bomb.” or,
“alleged race towards a nuclear bomb.” or,
“The Israeli officials attempt to justify their threatening of Iran based on the deceitful claims — projection really — that that is the only way to stop the Islamic Republic’s endless — now 40-years and counting — “race” towards a nuclear bomb. It’s long past time to see this for what it is: just more tired, Zionist criminal bullsh*t!” or, simply
“By way of deception thou shalt do war.”