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Israeli Action Is More Important than Biden's Words

(Israel Hayom) Maj.-Gen. (res.) Tamir Hayman - U.S. President Joe Biden's declaration that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon is significant because it was said during ongoing nuclear talks, and therefore impacts those negotiations with Iran. Moreover, Biden used the word "never." President Trump emphasized that he could only commit to what happened on his watch. Although such a promise doesn't obligate future administrations, it can't be erased from the annals of Israeli-U.S. strategic relations and grants support to another player (i.e., Israel) if the U.S. doesn't fulfill its commitment at crunch time. If there is no deal and Iran's nuclear project is moving forward, Iran can become a nuclear threshold state. In theory, such a reality wouldn't contradict Biden's promise, as a threshold state does not possess nuclear capabilities. Yet Israel's national security position will have changed for the worse. And if Iran will openly break out toward a nuclear bomb, can we expect America to take immediate action to stop it? This is entirely uncertain. Israelis know that such a reality would be intolerable. A Middle East mired in a nuclear arms race, where some regimes rely on theological signals for their strategic decisions, is far more dangerous than the one we live in. Israel must develop independent capabilities for removing the nuclear threat, but it needs American backing. The writer, former head of IDF Military Intelligence, is managing director of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.
2022-07-18 00:00:00
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