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Israel doesn’t even appear to be trying to deny that it was behind the assassination of Iran’s nuclear weapons researchers.
The goal is to sabotage US-Iran relations as much as possible to prevent Joe Biden from re-establishing the Iran nuclear deal.
It is still unknown if President Trump was briefed before the attack on Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the man identified as the mastermind behind Iran’s nuclear development.
The timing of the murder, on the other hand, indicates that the purpose of the attack is quite clear.
Israel has always been a strong opponent of the nuclear deal with Iran negotiated by Trump’s representatives, Barack Obama, with then-Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry as key cogs.
While negotiations on the deal were underway, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to convince Obama that Iran’s nuclear facilities should be bombed. He even threatened to do it on his own.
The reason is that Israel fears that Iran will continue to secretly try to develop nuclear weapons.
Instead, Obama’s tactic was to work with Russia, China, and the EU to reach an agreement that would make it impossible for Iran to produce sufficient quantities of highly enriched uranium to fuel future nuclear weapons. He thought it was a better way than trying to bomb underground facilities and perhaps start a major new war in the Middle East.
Donad Trump followed Netanyahu’s line. He did not trust Iran and rescinded the deal in May 2018 despite strong protests from, among others, America’s allies in Europe.
So far, the EU has continued to try to keep the nuclear deal alive, despite Iran declaring that it does not intend to comply with certain parts because the United States has reintroduced tough economic sanctions against Iran. Iran’s carrot in signing the deal was precisely that it should be allowed to enter the international heat and avoid economic sanctions.
Photo: TT NYHETSBYRÅN
Funeral ceremony for Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the man named as the mastermind behind Iran’s nuclear development.
Pay
From that point of view, the election of Joe Biden as the new president of the United States was welcomed by Iran.
Biden has said he wants the United States to rejoin the nuclear power deal.
Something that Israel now, certainly with the backing of Donald Trump although it has not yet commented on the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, is trying to prevent. The assassination could even be described as a parting gift from Netanyahu to Donald Trump, the American president who has done Israel’s affairs more than any of his representatives.
Now it was Netanyahu’s turn to return the money, even if it benefited him.
The assassination makes it more difficult for Biden to break Trump’s policy on Iran and replace it with his own.
Much depends on how Iran acts now.
Israel and possibly Trump expect violent retaliation from Iran, which in turn may justify an even harsher response from Israel and the United States. Best of all, a bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is aware of this. He has harshly condemned the assassination, but has said that Iran intends to retaliate at the right time. That is, after Joe Biden took office as the 46th president of the United States on January 20 of next year.
But despite the fact that Iran is a priestly dictatorship, not all those in power are moving in the same direction.
Discourage enemies
Rouhani belongs to the more moderate phalanx. The toughest want to directly counterattack Israel and the United States. They also do not want to return to the nuclear deal that they consider degrading for Iran and curb the country’s greater ambitions in the region. They want to acquire nuclear weapons and thus deter all enemies from attacking Iran.
Depending on Iran’s countermeasures and should Israel intend to continue with more targeted assassinations, it can be very difficult for Joe Biden to breathe new life into the nuclear energy deal and thus reduce tensions between the United States and Iran.
Israel is not the only one in the region that wants to thwart Iran’s ambitions. They are enthusiastically encouraged by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, which represent another branch of Islam and now see Iran as a more dangerous enemy than Israel.
Welcome to the new reality in the Middle East, Joe Biden.
From: Wolfgang Hansson
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