Israel Reduced To Heckling Iran Pact From Afar
With Netanyahu's loud bickering with the White House, culminating in his Congress speech, Israel's PM has inadvertently positioned himself as someone whom the Americans won’t take seriously.
By Amos Harel | Mar. 30, 2015 | 6:05 AM
It’s still a bit early to safely assess if a memorandum of understanding on curbing Iran’s nuclear program will be signed between Tehran and the superpowers or what exactly it will include. The deadline set for finishing this round of talks in Lausanne is Tuesday.
This is the stage at which the spin machines of the negotiators are working overtime to influence the final wording of the agreement. Although both sides have demonstrated a desire to reach a deal and have expressed optimism regarding the chances of doing so, there may be last-minute twists.
Israel’s role in the drama is limited to expressions of skepticism and reprimands from the sidelines. With his loud bickering with the Obama administration, culminating in his speech to Congress early this month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has inadvertently positioned himself as someone whom the Americans won’t take seriously.
Now Netanyahu has only two cards left to play – public warnings of destruction arising from an agreement, and indirect political pressure through congressional Republicans. Practically speaking, senior Israeli officials half admit that under the circumstances that have emerged, they would oppose any pending deal with Iran, regardless of its details.
Alongside Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz, who has been trying to wake the international community from its slumber at the prime minister’s behest, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Netanyahu himself spoke up yesterday. Ya’alon called Iran “the greatest danger to world stability” and accused it of “lying without blinking.” Netanyahu contributed a new slogan, calling the “Iran-Lausanne-Yemen” axis a danger to humanity.
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