»With the issue of Iran`s nuclear program being taken up by the U.N. Security Council, Israel`s hawkish policy and Aipac`s support for Bush administration hard-liners would appear to be paying dividends. The hard-line strategy, however, may very well backfire.
Convinced that the United States is set on attacking the Islamic Republic regardless of any potential Iranian policy changes, Tehran is more likely to respond militarily to increased pressure than to acquiesce. Maintaining a low profile would be next to impossible for Israel in such a situation; Iran would likely seek to drag the Jewish state into confrontation by activating its capabilities in southern Lebanon and in the Palestinian territories.«
»During the Khatami presidency, Iran signaled that it was prepared to adopt a "Malaysian profile" on Israel in return for an end to Israeli and American efforts to isolate Tehran. Iran would, much like Malaysia, be an Islamic state that would not recognize Israel and would occasionally criticize it but would not get itself involved in activities against the Jewish state. Iran and Israel would simply recognize each other`s spheres of influence and stay out of each other`s hair. The message was communicated to Israel through various channels, including a presentation by a senior Iranian military figure at a conference in Europe. The Iranians even reached out to Martin Indyk, a key supporter of Israel in the Clinton administration. Zeev Schiff, the military affairs editor of Ha`aretz, told me that the consistency of Tehran`s message "made it more clear that this was a policy" and not just empty talk.« |
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