Israel’s view on Iran: Diplomacy not the answer for wary nuclear neighbour

Israel’s government has long tried to raise international concern about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and is likely to welcome the new US deployments in the Gulf if it signals a hardening of policy.

Israel, itself a major but undeclared nuclear power, has been pushing for tougher sanctions against Iran and is wary of those who argue in favour of dialogue and negotiations.

On Saturday the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, held a rare meeting with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Davos, Switzerland, and asked him to work “in a serious and steadfast manner against Iran’s nuclear armament”. Peres told him: “A nuclear weapon in the hands of a fanatical regime such as the one in Iran poses a threat not only to Israel but also to the entire world.”

The Israeli administration seems so far unconvinced by Washington’s approach. Shlomo Brom, a retired general and senior research fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv, said the current Israeli government was unlikely to be completely satisfied with the Obama administration’s policies and said he too believed a stronger line was necessary.

“If the idea is to engage the Iranians and have dialogue and reach a diplomatic solution, I don’t think it is possible if the Iranians don’t feel some pressure,” he said.

It is not clear yet whether the new US deployments might change Israel’s thinking about the possibility of a military strike against Iran, perhaps discouraging it from taking any action – which may, in part, be Washington’s intention. Although Israeli pilots managed to bomb an Iraqi nuclear site in 1981, it is far less certain that any such Israeli strike on Iran today could hit its targets and far more of a concern that there would be heavy retaliation through militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.

Last month, the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, listed the Iranian threat as Israel’s greatest security challenge and said he wanted the international community to take action immediately before Tehran developed the capability to build nuclear warheads. “The time for tough sanctions is now,” he said. “If this moment is allowed to pass, what good will sanctions do afterwards?”