Growing Iran-Israel Tensions Weigh on Nuke Agreement, Middle East Stability

The story

There are signs of growing tensions between Iran and Israel, as both launch provocative military strikes and details emerge of an Israeli intelligence raid on a warehouse in Tehran.

The details

On Tuesday, Iran-backed forces and the Syrian army were advancing toward the Golan Heights as they sought to repel Syrian rebels. According to The Times, the move could mean Iran and Israel are “heading towards a direct confrontation in one of the most keenly contested territories in the Middle East.”

Meanwhile, Israel is ramping up its strikes in Syria in an attempt to disrupt the Iranian land corridor used to transfer weapons through Iraq to Syria and Lebanon. According to the Wall Street Journal:

“The Israeli strikes in Syria play into a broader conflict unfolding in the Middle East, where Islamic State’s collapse has ushered in a power struggle among regional and foreign actors.”

The Trump administration has pledged to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, possibly as this year. 

Undercover raid

At the same time, details are emerging of a clandestine raid the Mossad – Israel’s intelligence agency – executed on a Tehran warehouse, uncovering a trove of documents related to Iran’s nuclear program.

The documents reveal that Iran was on the cusp of mastering key bomb-making technologies before it nominally halted the research in 2003. They also show senior scientists’ plans to continue the research in secret.

Israeli officials briefed President Donald Trump on their findings in April, and Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear agreement a few days later.

According to the New York Times:

“[The documents] confirmed what inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, in report after report, had suspected: Despite Iranian insistence that its program was for peaceful purposes, the country had worked in the past to systematically assemble everything it needed to produce atomic weapons.”

Israeli officials say the documents show that the Iran nuclear agreement was a bad idea because Iran can’t be trusted. However, according to the Chicago Tribune:

“Many U.S.-based weapons experts and former U.S. officials say Israeli critics of the agreement are missing the point. They say the new revelations show precisely why the nuclear deal was necessary.”

What do you think?

What, if anything, should the U.S. do to preserve Middle East peace? Should plans to withdraw troops from Syria stay on track? What should be done about Iran’s nuclear ambitions? Hit Take Action to tell your reps what you think, then share your thoughts below.

—Sara E. Murphy

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / theasis)