After a round of talks with several high-ranking officials in the Israeli defense establishment, we can begin delineating what’s happening between the pillars of smoke billowing above the Middle East, what the US plan is, what Israel will (or won’t) do and where US Secretary of State John Kerry wants to steer this rickety cart. Below are several key insights:

Iran

“I have faith in President Barack Obama,” said a high-ranking defense official in Tel Aviv this week, when referring to Iran. According to him, the president’s need to prevent a nuclear Iran is equal to — if not greater than — the Israeli need. The United States created a “security peace” in the Middle East that encompasses all the countries under threat, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar (at times), Jordan, Egypt (at least the defense establishment), Turkey and Israel. This is an unofficial but stable alliance built upon common interests.

There is no such creature as an Arab who will tolerate an Iran with a nuclear bomb. And there is also no such creature on this planet as a Sunni who will agree with being faced with a Shiite bomb with no countermeasure in place.