Israel Confronts Iran

In early 2018, Israeli spies went into the heart of Tehran and obtained more than 110,000 documents on Iran's nuclear program. Netanyahu presented some of these documents at a press conference where he appeared excited by his achievement: entering the heart of Iran and stealing secret documents from inside a hideout supposedly under strict surveillance, For Mossad, the operation looked more like a scouting trip.
 
As for the year 2020, Iran and its military sites have been hit with a series of mysterious explosions since late June. More than three quarters of the Natanz nuclear facility was destroyed. There was also a mysterious explosion at the precision missile production complex. Israel is behind at least these two incidents. As for the series of fires that broke out in different locations, it is possible that these were planned to cover up the gravity of the two operations that targeted the Iranian nuclear program and the precision missile program.
 
Among all the chaos, the Americans killed the most powerful man in Iran, Qasim Soleimani.
 
Israel, for its part, has never stopped bombing sites belonging to Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria, at times targeting weapons depots, and at other times, targeting Iranian militias and their mercenaries. Ibrahim Asmi, a senior officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, was killed in one of these recent targets.
 
Until now, Iran has reserved the right to respond, even though it appears unable to protect its facilities and forces from Israeli strikes. Iran has been in a state of uncertainty since US President Trump withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal and adopted a policy of intensifying maximum pressure by increasing economic sanctions on Iranian institutions and individuals as well as every foreign company or non-Iranian businessman dealing with Iran. Then, Trump ordered the use of force against Iran and shifted from the empty threats of his predecessor, Barack Obama, to taking definitive action by killing Soleimani. This was the strongest message that President Trump sent to Iran which exposed the country’s weakness and its inability to confront the United States.
 
In addition, Iran’s severe economic crisis and the collapse of the currency have intensified internal pressures on the Iranian regime. The Iranian regime is also under external pressure, especially from Iraq, where some are taking aim at Iran’s interference in the country. Even if this does not pose a threat to Iran or its role on in Iraq, it remains a source of concern. 
 
There have also been persistent attempts by the Trump administration to re-impose international sanctions on Iran for violating the terms of its nuclear agreement through the United Nations Security Council.
 
It seems that all these factors prompted Netanyahu to take the decision to attack Iran without fear of a regional war, or of exposing his country to Hezbollah’s missiles.
 
But there is another factor that prompted Netanyahu to accelerate his attacks on Iran and destroy the Natanz reactor. This critical factor is the approaching US elections, and the question on everyone’s mind remains: What if Biden is elected by the Americans and Obama returns to the White House and restarts his policy of appeasement towards Iran and hostility toward the Gulf and Israel?
 
Can the Middle East tolerate another four years of Obama's Middle East policies and his failed theory creating a balance between Iran on the one hand and the Arabs and Israel on the other hand that eventually led to the destruction of four countries in the Middle East?
 
For Iran, remaining cautious while waiting for the results of the American elections is its best option. The prevailing belief is that Biden's election will restore an Iranian-American rapprochement and affinity that was started by Obama.
 
For Israel, the acceleration of its military operations and its presence in Iran are in anticipation of the results of the US elections in November. Trump's re-election means the continuity of the intense pressure on Iran until it succumbs to negotiations with clear conditions: withdrawing from the Middle East region, ending its nuclear program, and handing over the weapons of its militias, especially Hezbollah. And if Biden wins, it could mean a new war in the Middle East.