5,000 former Israeli officers tell Biden: Iran nuclear deal ‘catastrophic’

“Based on our collective experience and assessment, we believe that this deal is a threat to global peace.”

By Aryeh Savir, TPS

The pending renewed nuclear deal with Iran is “catastrophic for American, Israeli and global peace and security for a broad range of reasons,” thousands of Israeli security experts are warning while urging the Biden administration not to finalize it.

Some 5,000 members of the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF), comprised of senior officers from all of Israel’s security services and law-enforcement agencies, dispatched a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday asking him not to sign the nuclear deal with Iran, saying that “based on our collective experience and assessment, we believe that this deal is a threat to global peace,” for three primary reasons.

First, they say, despite the Biden administration’s repeated declared commitment to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, this agreement creates a clear legal pathway for Iran to obtain nuclear weapons by 2031, and denies the signatories of any tools to prevent that.

Second, the deal will unleash a regional nuclear arms race, in which states like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni states will be forced to develop or acquire nuclear weapons to mitigate the Iranian threat.

“Sectarian and religious war will likely be triggered,” the missive warns.

Finally, the letter continues, the deal will deliver a windfall of previously frozen assets to Iran, funds that will “undoubtedly be used to export terror and instability throughout the region and beyond, at an unprecedented scale, with the addition of a future nuclear umbrella as a force multiplier.”

The group appealed to Biden as “a lifelong true friend of the Jewish People and the State of Israel,” urging him “not to jeopardize Israel’s security by enabling Iran to achieve nuclear military capabilities.”

IDSF “will do everything possible to ensure the continued security and prosperity of our beloved homeland, with or without global support,” it concluded.

Israeli officials say that the nuclear agreement that is taking shape is a bad one, and Israel does not see itself committed to it and will continue to work for its security and curbing Iran’s nuclear efforts.

In a briefing for foreign correspodents last Wednesday, Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that “Israel is not against any agreement. We are against this agreement, because it is a bad one. Because it cannot be accepted as it is written right now.”

He warned that the “bad deal” will “give Iran a hundred billion dollars a year. This money will not build schools or hospitals. This is a hundred billion dollars a year that will be used to undermine stability in the Middle East and spread terror around the globe. This money will fund the Revolutionary Guards. It will fund the Basij who oppress the Iranian people. It will fund more attacks on American bases in the Middle East. It will be used to strengthen Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad.”

Similarly, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Al-Arabiya news that the pending nuclear agreement with Iran “will endanger not only Israel, but also threaten the Arab world and the peace of all humanity.”

The world is now waiting for Iran’s response to the latest text of the nuclear deal.

Benjamin NetanyahuIDFIran nuclear dealIranian threatIsraeli securityJoe BidenUS-Israel relationsYair Lapid