Iranian weapons shipment no 'tiebreaker'
The rollout of Israel's seizure of a ship carrying Iranian arms may have disappointed Israeli leaders looking for a public relations windfall.
The photos showing Israeli soldiers seizing control of the Klos-C weapons vessel, and the sounds of congratulatory slaps on the backs of the country’s top brass, are reminiscent of the heated race to obtain “the victory photo” during the second Lebanon war in 2006. Military analyst Ofer Shelah, a member of the Knesset and of its Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, wrote in an article published in 2011 in the Israeli daily Maariv that “a force of paratroopers was sent to the village of Bint Jbeil to fly the Israeli flag over one of the houses, to snap a picture and to withdraw.”
“The victory photo,” explained Shelah, was designed to sear the consciousness of both sides with “Israel’s undeniable victory.”
The victory celebrations following the takeover of the weapons vessel, and the display of the “Made in Iran” label on a sack of cement found in its cargo hold, were designed mostly to sear consciousness. This time the targets were the Israeli public and world public opinion. The message: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is a tiger in sheep’s skin, and Iran was, and remains, the source of all the troubles in the Middle East and a threat to world peace, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the AIPAC conference last week on March 4.
The publicity surrounding the operation, after many similar ones were kept secret, was designed, according to Netanyahu, to expose Iran’s true face as one who grossly violates international law even while conducting talks with world powers. Defense Minister Moshe (Bogie) Ya’alon also contributed extensive diplomatic analysis of the operation, saying that “despite the smiles, the Iranian regime hasn’t changed. Its strategic goals and intentions haven’t changed, nor has its activity.”
