The IDF and the Mossad stressed that Israel should develop multiple operational plans, which could be put into operation whether the U.S. signs a new deal with Iran or not.
By Benjamin Kerstein, The Algemeiner
Israel is examining possible changes to its operational plans against the Iranian nuclear program in order to contend with a US reentry to the 2015 nuclear deal.
According to Walla, the IDF and the Mossad have emphasized to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the government generally that while it is necessary to prepare for the possibility of an Israeli air strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, such an approach would be greatly complicated by a renewed nuclear deal.
One source in the security establishment told Walla that if Iran cuts a new deal with the U.S., “It’ll be a problem to bomb from the air.”
Moreover, the IDF has told Bennett that its latest assessment has found that the IDF is still not at full readiness for a major conflict with Iran.
Given all this, the IDF and the Mossad stressed that Israel should develop multiple operational plans, which could be put into operation whether the U.S. signs a new deal with Iran or not.
The goal of such operations would not be to destroy Iran’s nuclear program in a single blow, but to sabotage, disrupt, and delay the program indefinitely through surgical strikes and intelligence operations.
This would be in keeping with current policy, which has seen major accidents, sabotage, and assassinations related to Iran’s nuclear program, most of which are believed to be the result of Israeli intelligence activity.
To continue and expand this campaign, the IDF and the Mossad are likely to request more funds and greater resources — as such intelligence operations are usually very expensive.
IDF sources said that further operations are already in the planning stages, saying, “There are big plans and small plans.”
The purpose of the operations is not solely military, but also to “humiliate the Iranians” and harm their morale, giving them the feeling that they are under siege by Israeli operations they are powerless to stop.
It is believed that Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman is open to funding such operations, possibly through a specifically designated budget that will be approved within approximately two months, along with the government’s budget in general.