Israel weighs options for confronting Iran in event of nuclear deal
In the battle between Israel’s security agencies, the Mossad estimates that US President Joe Biden's administration is eager to reach a deal with Iran, at whatever cost.
Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), paid a visit this week to the headquarters of Unit 8200, the military intelligence arm tasked with collecting signals intelligence and decrypting cybertraffic.
Following his visit, Channel 12 News aired a video clip that Kochavi was reportedly shown by his hosts, said to document the results of a June 27 cyberattack that set fire to parts of a plant operated by Iran’s state-owned Khuzestan Steel Company and caused heavy damage. While Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, foreign news media have speculated that Israel was behind the attack claimed by hacktivists. Israel and Iran are waging an escalating cyberwar that has inflicted far more significant damage on Iran than on Israel.
Assessments by the Military Intelligence Directorate that runs Unit 8200 describe a nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran as the lesser evil of the bad options and alternatives currently on the table to block Iran’s nuclear arms race. This view is held by Military Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliwa, his predecessor Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Tamir Hayman, as well as former IDF Chief Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Gadi Eizenkot and Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Dror Shalom, head of the Defense Ministry’s political-security division.
Nonetheless, the opposing view currently dominates the complex Israeli security arena. Its leading purveyor is Mossad Director David Barnea, who stepped into the large shoes of his predecessor Yossi Cohen a year ago and, against all odds, has even surpassed him in various regards.
