Bibi's Iran nuclear talks blunder
Israel's failure to influence the emerging agreement between the world powers and Iran should be cast on Prime Minister Netanyahu, who failed to adapt to the evolving reality of a new Iranian regime, in which the West sees a potential partner.
On Nov. 24, 2013, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood before the news cameras and responded aggressively to the interim agreement that was signed in Geneva between the superpowers and Iran. “What was concluded in Geneva last night is not a historic agreement. It is a historic mistake,” said Netanyahu. He went on to clarify that Israel is not committed to the agreement, and that “Israel has the right and the obligation to defend itself by itself against any threat.”
Almost a year has gone by since then. Over the last few days, the parties participating in the talks in Vienna have shifted gears, as the target date for a permanent agreement approaches. According to reports coming out of the Austrian capital, negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program have reached a critical phase, with the superpowers showing greater flexibility in their positions. And what has Netanyahu been doing? He got up in front of the cameras yet again to warn against a bad agreement that would endanger Israel.
On Oct. 19, at a ceremony marking the naming of a road at the entrance to Jerusalem after late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, a stern-faced Netanyahu declared, “Today, we are facing the danger of an agreement by the powers that will leave Iran a nuclear threshold state, with thousands of centrifuges through which it can produce a nuclear bomb in a short period of time.” In the spirit of the latest developments in the Middle East, the prime minister added, “This is a threat to the entire world, and first and foremost to us. This threat is far more serious than that posed by the Islamic State.”
Netanyahu has never given up an opportunity to exploit the Iranian nuclear threat for internal political purposes. On this occasion as well he used the security issue, apparently to neutralize the “Milky protest,” which brought socioeconomic issues such as the cost of living back to the headlines in Israel. Senior officials surrounding Netanyahu kept journalists posted about “concerns in Jerusalem” over the possibility of Iran and the superpowers soon reaching a deal, trying to divert attention from the failings of Netanyahu’s reeling government.
