(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Michael Herzog - More than 70% of Israelis believe the Iran nuclear deal is dangerous and will not block Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Israelis believe the stakes are higher for them than for anyone else. Israel regards Iran as the most serious threat to its national security - an assessment based squarely on Tehran's extreme ideology, its calls for eliminating Israel, its nuclear and regional ambitions, and its heavily armed proxies on Israel's borders (including Hizbullah and its 100,000 rockets). Tehran may be discouraged from brazenly breaking out to nuclear military capabilities in the next few years. Yet the deal allows Tehran to maintain its nuclear infrastructure and advance its nuclear technical capabilities with international help. Israelis do not believe that sufficient safeguards are in place if things go wrong. Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Michael Herzog, a former chief of staff to Israel's minister of defense, is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute.
2015-07-31 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive