US, Israel duplicity over the Iran nuclear deal

As the US intensifies its efforts to conclude a nuclear deal with Iran, it is also seeking to appease Israel by promising further military assistance to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in return for a retreat from the vociferous opposition to the framework.

According to the Times of Israel, Israel and the US are holding preliminary discussions for a “compensation package” that would include an increase in the number of F-35 fighter jets supplied by the US to Israel, as well as additional batteries for the Iron Dome, assistance for the Arrow 3 missile system and the purchasing of technology for intelligence gathering.

Last Sunday, Netanyahu declared: “It is both necessary and possible to achieve a better deal because extremists cannot be allowed to achieve their aims, not in Iran, not in Yemen and not in Jerusalem.”

Netanyahu’s incessant laments regarding Iran and the alleged development of nuclear weapons has, by now, become synonymous with Israel’s penchant for accumulating further military assistance from the US. Analysed through this framework, the nuclear deal with Iran can also be perceived as an effort to maintain Israel’s colonial project in Palestine. One of the earlier ludicrous requests by Netanyahu was to include within the agreement that Iran recognises Israel’s right to exist – a stance that Iran has consistently repudiated at an international level and supplemented through facts such as financially supporting resistance movements in Palestine. Israel, therefore, is seeking to maintain its status as a colonial power by imposing its existence upon the forthcoming deal. However, the quest for recognition proved to be a mere prologue to the discussions that are currently unfolding between the settler-colonial state and its imperialist ally.

Netanyahu’s silence, therefore, contains resonance of a high degree. As Palestinians in Gaza struggle with the permanent displacement authored by Israel during Operation Protective Edge last summer, Netanyahu is seeking to hasten yet another colonial massacre on the enclave – partially bolstered by further forthcoming military assistance from the US and, while still in its hypothetical stages, craftily secluded from scrutiny through excessive rhetoric about the Iran nuclear deal. Various reports in Israeli media have now discussed a forthcoming invasion of Gaza – the earliest having been mentioned mere weeks following the Egypt-brokered ceasefire.

Therefore, as Iran navigates its political terrain with skill – negotiating with the US on a nuclear agreement while maintaining its commitment to the Palestinian anti-colonial struggle, Israel avails itself of yet another diplomatic issue for its own expansionist gains which ultimately benefit US interference in the region.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has once again stipulated conditions regarding the agreement. “We have already said that we will not allow any inspection of military sites by foreigners.” Referring to the US as the “insolent enemy,” Khamenei added: “They also say that we must allow interviews with nuclear scientists. This is interrogation. I will not allow foreigners to come and talk to scientists who have advanced the science to this level.”

Meanwhile, Israel is also partnering with India to develop medium-range surface-to-air missiles for the Indian army – a continuation of the 1999 defence cooperation signed between both countries. However, the hype about Iran has created the perfect camouflage for Israel and international complicity in maintaining the exploitation and massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.