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Israel's Shadow War with Iran Doesn't Have to Strain Relations with the U.S.

(Foreign Affairs) Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin - The regional and nuclear tracks of Iranian foreign policy might appear to be separate, but in fact they are part and parcel of a unified strategy. Nuclear weapons capability, once achieved, will ensure the regime's survival, whereupon Iran can use its conventional forces to subvert regional states under the cover of a nuclear umbrella. Washington aims to build a "stronger and longer" deal through follow-on agreements that close some of the deal's loopholes. But once the nuclear deal has been reinstated, the U.S. may lack the necessary economic and political leverage over Iran to negotiate additional pacts. If Israel intends to continue its covert campaign against Iran's nuclear program, it ought to do so within the framework of a joint strategy with the U.S. The idea that Washington might negotiate with Iran about its nuclear program while greenlighting efforts to degrade that very program may seem absurd - but consider that Iran is doing the exact opposite of that by expanding its program while negotiating. A U.S.-Israeli agreement to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons should delineate agreed-upon nuclear redlines for Iran, formulas for calculating Tehran's distance from the bomb, contingency plans for a wide range of possible scenarios, a division of labor in the event of a last resort military option, and joint exercises to ensure that the military option remains credible. The writer is executive director of Israel's Institute for National Security Studies and former head of IDF military intelligence.
2021-04-22 00:00:00
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