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Former Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, criticized the US administration's attempts to restrict the upcoming Israeli attack on Iran, claiming that the vast majority of Israelis expect a strong response to this attack, in which 181 ballistic missiles were used.
Despite this, the Israeli diplomat and politician – in an article in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper – called on his government to think about the benefits that Israel could achieve from responding to American pressure to delay a response in exchange for obtaining strategic national gains.
While Oren stressed that the United States and most Western countries believe in Israel's right to defend itself after the Iranian attack last week, he claimed that the United States seeks to impose its control over Israel.
At the same time, he said, “They seek to limit the extent to which Israel exercises its right to respond, while insisting not to attack.” Nuclear installations Or Iranian oil. But they are not only asking, they are sending senior military and diplomatic officials into a bear hug in Israel to ensure that we do not dare to retaliate while they are here.”
Oren considered that this intervention “impedes Israel's freedom to respond and causes a delay that endangers its security.” He said: “Every day that passes without a response weakens our argument before the world and threatens our security as much as the missiles themselves do.”
Oren added, “The Israeli public is frustrated by this situation, as they want a decisive response that shows Israel's strength and prevents any future attempts to threaten.” He explained that delaying a response would cause the world to lose the ability to remember the cause of the war, saying: “When we respond in the end, the image of Iranian missiles flying towards Tel Aviv will disappear in the minds of the international community, while they are busy with their internal problems.”
He explained, “In the United States, the image of Iranian missiles flying towards Tel Aviv will be unclear in the mind of the American administration in the face of the hurricanes that are destroying its cities, in addition to the intensification of the presidential race in the American elections. Some of the public and much of the press will criticize Israel for escalating the conflict in the Middle East.” Unnecessarily, causing the price of gasoline to rise, and trying to drag the United States into a comprehensive regional war.”
Washington bargaining
Despite all his stress on the importance of the Israeli attack on Iran, he raises an idea that his government may be working on in the meantime. He says, “Apart from avoiding further friction with the White House, what benefit does Israel gain from waiting for a response?” As another diplomat put it, Can we use the US administration’s fear of our response to Iran to obtain vital concessions from Washington?”
The former Israeli ambassador to the United States goes on to explain his idea, which is based on the fact that the delay should be seen as an opportunity to obtain national interests related to the existence of the Jewish state, as he claims.
He said, “If Israel gives up its right to take revenge on Iran, we can make the American president… Joe Biden He does not oppose the generals' plan (displacing the population of northern… Gaza), and declares the northern Gaza Strip a closed military zone, then trades that for the release of hostages from Hamas, or perhaps a presidential pledge to intervene militarily against Iranian nuclear facilities as soon as Iran reaches uranium enrichment at a rate of more than 60%.
Oren even puts forward a bolder idea by saying, “There is another idea, which is to get the United States to sell us long-range strategic bombers capable of carrying 15,000 kilograms of bunker-busting explosives and dropping them from a height that Iranian defense systems cannot reach (B2 stealth bombers).
He adds, “Such a sale would say to the Iranians: We will not bomb your facilities this time, but we have the means to do so effectively in the future.”
Although he stressed that “any price the American administration is willing to pay in exchange for Israeli restraint must be seen as worthwhile to the public here,” he reiterated that the public rejects American demands for a “proportionate” response, stressing that public opinion in Israel looks forward to A response that preserves its prestige and security.
He concluded by saying: “We have a reason for war, and we are ready to respond with the same force that Iran and its agents used against us, by launching the same number of missiles that it has fired with Hezbollah so far, which are 2,600 missiles,” he said.
