Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has often stated that he would try to convince the new American administration to reopen the nuclear agreement that was signed between Iran and the six world powers in July 2015. He even told CBS last December that he has at least “five ideas” on how to facilitate the reopening of the agreement. Evidently he will share his ideas in February with US President Donald Trump in a meeting that will take place between them in Washington.
The problem with Netanyahu is that he, like Trump, currently does not have the backing of the security and intelligence networks of their respective countries. Perhaps even the opposite is true. Those in Israel’s various security branches are worriedly keeping track of developments. The recommendation of all the security branches, from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to the Mossad and Military Intelligence, is unequivocal: not to beg the Americans to reopen the nuclear agreement. Period. True, the IDF and Mossad were not enthusiastic about the deal itself, which has innate shortcomings and problems. Israel is convinced that a different approach in the negotiations could have brought about better results. But since the nuclear deal was signed, those in Israel’s security system feel that reopening the agreement would cause more damage than it would benefit Israel. That is because such a step would necessarily cause a dramatic confrontation between the United States and Iran.
