Limor Simhony Philpott

Can Iran help keep King Bibi in power?

A protester wearing a Netanyahu mask (Getty images)

Benjamin Netanyahu has a problem: he doesn’t have sufficient support to form a coalition. With 20 days left to complete this near impossible task, he is desperate; and, when backed into a corner, Netanyahu looks to Iran as his saviour.

The timing of the recent explosion in Iran’s Natanz’s nuclear facility – and particularly the fact that Israel has done little to dispel the notion that it was to blame – suggests that the motivation was at least partially political. 

This isn’t to say the attacks on Iran aren’t normally motivated by interests of national security. The threat of a nuclear-capable Iran is substantial: according to Iran, the Natanz nuclear site holds thousands of advanced centrifuges. These have been used to enrich uranium beyond the levels needed for civilian purposes, a clear violation of the terms of the nuclear deal. 

While the attack in Iran comes at a convenient time for Bibi, Joe Biden’s government is not pleased

A recent report by the IAEA revealed that Iran, in another major violation of the deal, has started producing uranium metal which is essential for the core of an atom bomb. Israel views Iran as its greatest threat and has successfully disrupted the nuclear programme over the past decade using cyber attacks, bombings and assassinations of key personnel, including killing Iran’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, in November 2020.

This attack is different. There are indications in the Israeli media that the informal information leaking from ‘anonymous sources’ is being strongly backed from Jerusalem. There is, uncharacteristically, near-bragging about the damage that may have been caused to the facility. This is not the first time an attack in Iran came at a convenient time for the Netanyahu, and it bears the hallmarks of such an event.

Israel’s fourth election in two years has produced bad results for Bibi, but luckily for him, the opposition isn’t doing any better.

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