Former Israeli Diplomat Hopes 'Strong Allies' Will Help In War With Iran

Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said on Wednesday that Israeli officials know what blows they have received from the Islamic Republic so far, “some of which are still in progress” but have remained confidential.

He said Israel “has suffered several blows from the Islamic resistance in different countries across the region, and even inside the occupied Palestinian territories.”

Refereeing to the assassination IRGC’ Quds Force colonel Hassan Sayyad-Khodaei – who was killed outside his home in Tehran late in May -- Jafari said that unlike Israel the Islamic Republic cannot publicize many of these blows as these operations have often been kept confidential. 

Following reports of a thwarted plot by Iranian agents to target Israelis in Turkey and a drone attack at Iraq's Erbil last week, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said Monday that any “response” by the Islamic Republic against Israel would take place inside Israel “and not in a third country.”

On Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein criticized Iran for its aggressive behaviors toward Iraq and the Kurdistan Autonomous Region, and denied Tehran’s allegations that the Israeli Mossad is present in Erbil, saying “We find it strange that Iran chose the Kurdistan region to respond to Israel.”

In March, Iran fired missiles at Erbil. No one was killed but missiles did damage to some residential buildings. Iran claimed it used 12 ballistic missiles in that attack and targeted an Israeli intelligence center.

While Republicans found more reason to criticize President Joe Biden's approach to Iran, Democrats who also sounded pessimistic continued to support the diplomatic option.

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida told Iran International's corrspondent Arash Alaei that he did not believe “a deal that is acceptable” was “possible with the current Iranian leadership,” and that “there may not be a way to keep a government that’s determined to build a nuclear capability from acquiring it …”

Rubio said Iran would “become a nuclear power, whether there’s a deal or not – I think the question with the deal is whether they’ll have more money to do it faster,” in an implicit reference to a lifting of US sanctions in case of an agreement.

Marc Rod, Washington reporter of the Jewish Insider, in tweets cited Rubio saying the administration of President Joe Biden lacked a “plan B,” referring to a back-up approach should diplomatic efforts to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal fail.

Malley was briefing the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday on the Biden administration’s current assessment of efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). Year-long talks between Iran and world powers to restore the JCPOA have been paused since March.

‘No way…without diplomacy’

Both supporters and opponents of the JCPOA have in recent days suggested that Biden’s policy is failing, with JCPOA critics insisting a ‘plan B’ is now needed.

Pessimism around the chances of the nuclear talks suspended in Vienna since March have increased compared to three weeks ago when Malley testified in the Senate.

Defending the administration’s approach, Democratic Party senator Chris Murphy told Iran International that the White House had been consistent “there is no way to protect the United States, no way to stop Iran from a path to a nuclear weapon without diplomacy, without this deal.”

Murphy insisted that the current situation – with Iran since 2019 expanding its nuclear program beyond JCPOA limits – resulted from President Donald Trump in 2018 removing the US from the agreement.

‘Absolute dumpster fire’

“We all know,” Murphy said, “that Iran has been moving rapidly to a point where it has enough fissile material in order to make a weapon – and that has only occurred because of the Trump administration’s decision to blow up this deal, and to my mind we have to get back in it as quickly as possible.”

Asked by Rod how he thought the administration assessed the chances of agreement to restore the JCPOA, Murphy said: “The chances of a breakthrough are much smaller today than they were six months ago.”

Senator Chris Van Hollen, another Democrat, expressed hope to Rod that the Biden administration was still serious about diplomacy. He said that any ‘plan B’ would include a military option and “likely result in a lot of Americans getting killed.”

Democrat Chris Coons of Delaware, said to be close to President Biden said, “The new regime in Iran has refused to make reasonable accommodations to get back into the JCPOA. I think their demands at the negotiating table that are public and their actions that are public are gravely concerning and I'm not optimistic about the path.”

Senator Ted Cruz, a long-time opponent of the 2015 deal (the JCPOA, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and staunch Trump ally, described Malley’s briefing as “quite concerning” and called Biden’s approach an “absolute dumpster fire.”

The Article 90 Committee -- a parliamentary body mandated by the Constitution to pursue complaints concerning the work of government institutions -- presented a report on Wednesday, claiming that Hassan Rouhani and Ali Akbar Salehi deliberately ignored a December 2020 legislation entitled "Strategic Action To Eliminate Sanctions and Defend Iranian Nation's Interests.”

Touted as putting a clear legal responsibility on the government to escalate the nuclear crisis, the law was aimed at boosting uranium enrichment and restricting international nuclear inspections, if JCPOA signatories did not scrap all sanctions on Iran, including those related to human rights.

The committee said that since the refusal of these two former officials to implement the law on several occasions has been proven, the case will be "sent to the judicial authorities".

Former president Rouhani and his ministers have been threatened before with prosecution for a host of alleged mistakes and shortcomings by hardliners dominating the parliament.

The parliament passed the legislation following the assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, arguing that Iran had gained nothing from the 2015 deal and even blamed it for the assassination.

Satellite images from Maxar Technologies showed Tuesday activity at a desert launch pad at Imam Khomeini Space Center southeast of Semnan, prompting Iranian authorities to react and acknowledge plans for tests. 

The state-run IRNA news agency quoted Defense Ministry spokesman Ahmad Hosseini as confirming the tests for the new solid-fueled rocket at the site of frequent recent failed attempts to put a satellite into orbit. 

He said Iran will launch its satellite-carrying Zuljanah rocket twice more after conducting a previous launch, but he did not elaborate on a timeframe for tests nor said when the previous launch occurred.

Asked about the preparations, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that the US urges Iran to de-escalate the situation, saying that Iran “has consistently chosen to take provocative actions.”

A Pentagon spokesman, Army Maj. Rob Lodewick, said the American military “will continue to closely monitor Iran’s pursuit of viable space launch technology and how it may relate to advancements in its overall ballistic missile program.” The United States says that space launches by Iran could be a cover to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles that would be able to deliver nuclear warheads.

In March, Iran suffered another failed launch of a satellite-carrying rocket attempting to reinvigorate the program criticized by the West.

Bolton told Iran International’s Fardad Farahzad on Tuesday that if the Biden administration returns to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, it will make a big mistake because Israel will feel threatened, intensifying the proxy conflict between the Islamic Republic and Israel to a full-fledged war. 

The possibility of reviving the JCPOA is very low, and if the Vienna talks fail, on the one hand, "Israel or others" may take covert or overt action to stop Iran's nuclear program, and on the other hand, sanctions against the Islamic Republic will increase.

In response to a question about the joint naval drills between the US Navy and the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf, he noted that the Iranian threat in the region has reached a very serious point but the possibility of a full-blown war in the short term is still very low, adding that there is no real possibility of a war between Iran and the US because it is tantamount to “suicide” for the Islamic Republic.

US Central Command said on Tuesday that the naval forces of the US and the UAE have started a 10-day drill, codenamed Iron Defender.

Earlier on Tuesday, Connecticut Democrat Senator Chris Murphy told Iran International that "It would be tragic if we didn't get back into the nuclear agreement. I have yet to hear Republicans present a plausible alternative for how we keep the region and the world safe from nuclear weapons without this diplomatic agreement."