Russian missile deal sets off alarm bells in Israel
Israel fears that the nuclear agreement, combined with Russian missiles, will strengthen Iran on all fronts, changing the balance of power of both Iran and Hezbollah vis-a-vis Israel.
On the afternoon of April 13, Israeli journalists assembled in one of the offices of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. There they received a telephone briefing from Wendy Sherman, US undersecretary of state and chief US nuclear negotiator with Iran.
It was a comprehensive and convincing briefing and it clarified the familiar US messages of the last few weeks: While Israel’s worries are legitimate, only an agreement with Iran can halt advancement of the Iranian nuclear program. An Israeli or US military assault will only cause a regression of between one and three years in the Iranian nuclear program, but then they will only “rebuild everything from scratch” because no bomb can destroy the knowledge and experience that they have accumulated.
Sherman said the United States will continue to stand at Israel’s side even during times of bitter controversies, and will guarantee Israel’s safety. Imposing additional sanctions on Iran is likely to cause it to accelerate its nuclear program, and some of the powers that are partner to the negotiations object to the ramping up of the sanctions. While the sanctions brought the Iranians to the negotiating table, it didn’t cause them to halt their nuclear program; instead, the Geneva interim agreement accomplished this. It is possible to attain a comprehensive agreement with the Iranians by June 30. We are on our way to a good deal, even if it is not a perfect deal. And there is no such thing as a perfect deal; this is the best possible alternative.
Sherman also related to the statements made by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran. She said that the Americans heard what he had to say, and that there are numerous spins on the deal that are targeted at internal, domestic needs, including in Tehran. A similar thing also happened after the Geneva agreement, and subsequently that deal was fully implemented. The United States will demand that the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will be given full access to all the sites, and that Iran will respond to all the open issues regarding the possible military dimensions file and the military aspects of the nuclear program. Finally, all this must be done before the sanctions are eased.
