Israel and Iran's Nuclear Program
IRD: What are Israel’s goals in undermining Iran's nuclear program?
ME: In the latest phase of its psychological warfare, Israel tried to create an international consensus against Iran, isolate our country, and to delegitimize Iran's peaceful intentions. Israel also relentlessly pursued its efforts in the diplomatic stage. This proves that they were aware of Iran's scientific progress and were hoping to stop it through official international channels. In the meantime they did not halt their efforts to convince the Americans to actualize unrefined, impractical military scenarios against Iran. However, they gradually lost hope in stopping Iran's access to peaceful nuclear energy. I would like to elaborate on a few points:
1. Iran's nuclear program has passed the point of no return. That means Iran has achieved the infrastructures and the know-how to generate nuclear energy and no physical factors can deprive it from this accumulated knowledge.
2. If we take a look at our nuclear history, a media project carried out by the West and Israel was to deny the academic, progressive nature of Iran's nuclear program. They tried to portray it as a clumsy, Third World quixotic effort.
3. Tel Aviv’s cyber efforts to defeat Iran's nuclear program demonstrates that Iran has made significant progress so minor attempts won’t stop its forward moves. In the meantime, Israel has fewer friends at the international level now, and it can’t rely on collaborative initiatives to hinder Iran's nuclear progress.
4. Every country that has tried to break the shackles and release itself from the fetters of underdevelopment has had to pay a price. Iran is no exception.
IRD: How have Israel's efforts affected Iran's nuclear program?
ME: The cyber attacks have actually provided Iran a chance to reinforce itself in its electronic security. In the meantime, Israel as a technologically and scientifically advanced country gives Iran adequate motives to progress.
IRD: Why does Israel show the most rabid reaction vis-à-vis Iran's nuclear program?
ME: Israel owes its regional status to the underdevelopment and instability inflicted upon its Muslim neighbors. The scientific, military, diplomatic and political backwardness of the Muslim states surrounding Israel has emboldened Israel not to regard them as rightful actors, but also to violate their entitlements frequently and domineeringly. Meanwhile, it has managed to depict its behavior in a favorable manner for Western public opinion.
The Middle East’s transformation has worried Israel. For many years, Tel Aviv considered itself as the only A-class country of the region and witnessed no obstacle against its geopolitical ambitions. However the rise of Hezbollah and Hamas--and the inspiring Iranian Revolution-- have been serious challenges for this country. Iran discarded both Eastern and Western models of governance, returned self-confidence to the region and rose as a key rival to Israel. In this zero-sum game, every instance of Iran's progress means one step back for Israel, so Israel’s reactions are quite normal.
* Makan Eidipour is a strategic affairs analyst.