Israel's Iran Policies After the Nuclear Deal

Abstract

F or more than a decade, Israel has been at the forefront of efforts to expose and prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon capability. Through threats of military force, support for increased international sanctions, and alleged sabotage and assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists, Israel has made its position clear that it will not accept a nuclear-armed Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has clearly stated that he views Iran as an existential threat to Israel. While not all Israeli decisionmak-ers view Iran as an existential threat, most view a nuclear weapon– capable Iran as an unacceptable challenge to Israel and regional stability. At times, Israeli security leaders and analysts have differed in their approaches to confronting Iran, particularly over Netan-yahu's handling of the U.S. relationship, as well as the advisability of a military option. Despite such differences, Israel's political and security establishments are largely unified in their opposition to Iranian nuclear ambitions and share similar assessments about what they perceive as malign Iranian intentions toward the Jewish state and its destabilizing regional activities. It is thus not surprising that Israel was one of the most vocal opponents of the nuclear negotiations with Iran that initially led to an interim nuclear agreement in November 2013 between Iran and the so-called P5+1