Israel’s Less-Than-Secret War Against the Iranian Nuclear Program

Excerpt

The United States and Israel share a goal of keeping Iran from being a nuclear state, but the two nations have undertaken vastly different measures to achieve that aim. In 2016, Barack Obama sent pallets of cash to Iran as part of a $1.7 billion ransom for five American hostages, which happened to coincide with the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (better known as the Iran nuclear deal). He also pardoned Iranian prisoners held in the United States. Naturally, Iran proceeded to take more hostages. Some of them are now coming home after Joe Biden agreed to pay a $6 billion ransom.

And plans are in the works to release up to $10 billion more of frozen Iranian assets. A lighter touch on the enforcement of oil sanctions has led to a surge of Iranian exports, bringing in billions each month. There is no acknowledged quid pro quo, yet all signs point to an informal nuclear deal under which Iran will not produce weapons-grade uranium. The White House needs the deal to stay informal, because U.S. law gives Congress the right to review any agreement. Such a flimsy deal makes no sense strategically, but it does allow the president to avoid the embarrassment—just ahead of a tough reelection fight—of Iran reaching the nuclear threshold despite 30 years of American promises it never would.

David Adesnik is a senior fellow and director of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on X @adesnik. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.