Despite Biden’s Comment, Israeli Officials Fear U.S. Still Keen on Iran Nuclear Deal

Israeli security officials believe a deal is still likely but fear that the incoming government will jeopardize U.S.- Israeli cooperation on Iran

Israeli officials claim that U.S. leadership is still aiming to reach a nuclear deal with Iran and has the backing of the U.S. defense establishment. The claim was made despite recent footage that circulated on social media of U.S. President Joe Biden saying the deal was “dead”.

The Israeli officials claim that the U.S. understands that it will be difficult for the Iranian regime to quell the recent protests in Iran without improving the economic situation and therefore the nuclear deal may be in the Iranian’s interest.

A nuclear deal with Iran received widespread support in the U.S. until Iran supported Russia in its war with Ukraine and signed arms deals with them. This made it even more difficult to resume nuclear deal negotiations. Israeli officials were quick to celebrate Biden’s statement that the deal was dead, but the security establishment is showing caution and treating the president’s words as a slip of the tongue rather than a statement of fact. U.S. Administration officials that spoke to Haaretz and have knowledge of the matter said that in conversations with senior U.S. officials, they gave the impression that despite the challenging situation a significant twist in the nuclear deal was coming within in a few months.

During the Lapid-Bennett government, Israeli officials began closed discussions to evaluate Israel’s preparation for a military conflict with Iran. An official with knowledge of the issue said the situation advanced to such an extent that they were entrusted with the task of preparing new operational plans, prepare a budget for arms purchases and acquire special equipment required for such a campaign. The outgoing government reserved a massive budget of billions of dollars for attacking Iran, purchased advanced weaponry, and tightened military relations with the U.S., Gulf states and other allies. Nonetheless, an Israeli official told Haaretz that “Israel has no practical capacity to attack Iran effectively without the support and cooperation of the U.S., and anyone who says otherwise is willfully lying.”

Israeli officials who took part in the closed discussions about Iran raised the additional issue that Israel must maintain and preserve an international front against the Iranian regime. According to an Israeli official who took part in the discussions, the understanding was that any attack on Iran would require a regime change, and therefore it was not sufficient to attack military targets without targeting senior Iranian officials who are behind plans to threaten Israel and other countries in the region.

This was said in relation to fears that Israel’s incoming government’s plans could be taken badly by the U.S. administration, and therefore jeopardize military cooperation regarding Iran. Israeli officials were warned about this by their American counterparts in previous discussion.

The Israeli defense establishment hope that Netanyahu’s experience with the Iranian issue and his belief in the importance of tight cooperation with the U.S. will help him repel any attempts to challenge U.S.- Israeli ties by his coalition partners or ministers. Israeli security officials fear that the incoming government will lack the wisdom to tread a fine line and provoke the Americans. “The way things stand, it’s not heading in a good direction and the Americans aren’t hiding this,” a senior Israeli official said.

Content retrieved from: https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/2022-12-27/ty-article/.premium/israeli-officials-say-iran-nuclear-deal-isnt-dead/00000185-4fe1-d124-abb7-4fed0ee50000.