Former Israeli Intel Chief: Iran Nuclear Deal Is ‘Least Bad’ Option

Sees deal as different from 2015

Former Israeli military intelligence chief Tamir Hayman spoke on the ongoing Iran nuclear talks this weekend, echoing previous sentiments from unnamed “sources” in Israel who opined that even a bad nuclear deal was better than nothing.

Hayman said as much this weekend, saying any framework was the “least bad” option for Israel. One of many past opponents of the deal, he said the deal now would be in a different situation from 2015.

He did not elaborate on this, but at the core, the assumption is that any deal limits Iran’s program development, is something preferable to no deal in place.

That’s especially true with the entire negotiating path including so many military threats against Iran. Coming out of talks more threatened than ever, Iran might feel that they need to pursue nuclear deterrence without a deal that includes security assurances.

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.