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In Spite of Growing Frustration with Iran, the West Creates a Problematic, De Facto Arrangement with Tehran

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser - The West has avoided significant changes in its attitude toward Iran and its nuclear program, creating a problematic, de facto arrangement with Tehran. The military aid Iran provides to Russia for its war against Ukraine, such as the supply of hundreds of Shahed-136 unmanned aerial vehicles, effectively places Iran as a party to the war. As a result, the U.S. administration has declared that "Iran may be complicit in war crimes." Iranian assistance to Russia significantly reinforces Israel's claim that the West must take a more resolute stance against the Islamic regime in Iran because it is committed to the struggle against the existing world order. Western frustration with Iran is also fueled by its policy on the nuclear issue. The Iranians continue to prevent the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from monitoring their nuclear activities. They continue accumulating highly-enriched uranium, including to 60%, which allows them to enrich enough uranium to the level required to produce several nuclear explosive devices within a few weeks. Moreover, the Iranians continue to condition the return to the nuclear agreement on the IAEA's waiver of its demand for information about the nuclear facilities exposed in the archives of the nuclear program that Israel seized in Tehran. Additional causes of Western frustration include Iran's violent suppression of demonstrators, its continued support for terrorist elements and its proxies in the Middle East, its advocacy of global anti-Semitism, and its commitment to the annihilation of Israel. The writer is Director of the Project on Regional Middle East Developments at the Jerusalem Center. He was formerly Director General of the Israel Ministry of Strategic Affairs and head of the Research Division of IDF Military Intelligence
2023-01-19 00:00:00
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