Israel pins hopes on American sanctions against Iran
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman pin their hopes on the American sanctions against Iran to destabilize the Tehran regime and force it to renegotiate the nuclear agreement.
Israel views the renewed US sanctions imposed against Iran on Nov. 2 as nothing less than a historic event. Given the complex situation on its northern front, Israel is increasingly pinning its hopes on the sanctions to sever the lifeline of Iran’s economy. Israel had apparently lost the battle against Iran’s entrenchment in Syria through no fault of its own. On the other hand, Israel now hopes to win the war against the Iranian regime, its nuclear program and continued sponsorship of regional terrorism. The sanctions are a nonconventional weapon designed to help it achieve this existential goal.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been closely monitoring the renewed sanctions imposed by the Donald Trump administration. When the previous round of sanctions was imposed in August, Netanyahu hailed the move, praised Trump and urged Europe to join the American sanctions regime. This week, on Nov. 5, he told the Knesset, “This day is a historic day. This is the day on which the United States, led by President Trump, imposed the most severe sanctions on Iran since the beginning of the effort to stop its aggression.”
According to Netanyahu, “We see the impact of these sanctions on the ground right now” with cuts in Iran’s funding of its proxies and allies. He pointed specifically to the new sanctions that include the international SWIFT banking clearing system used by the Iranian regime, saying it would “add a very severe blow to Iran's terrorist regime. I believed that sanctions must include this element of credit clearance. I raised this several times, even during my last meeting with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and I am pleased that the US has decided to include the credit component.”
Israel has been closely monitoring developments in Iran, especially the regime’s attempts to survive the sanctions. Unlike the days of former US President Barack Obama's administration, when Israel was kept out of the room where crucial decisions were made on such issues, this administration is working in tandem and close cooperation with Israel. The chief of Israel’s Mossad agency, Yossi Cohen, provides the Americans with weekly intelligence reports in order to spur them into action and prove that their sanctions are having the desired impact on Iran and the Middle East.
