A report published by the American "New York Times" stated that Israeli security officials are divided over the Iranian nuclear agreement, and that officials in the occupation army and intelligence support the agreement, although the government opposed any agreement with Iran.

The report pointed out that high-ranking members of the Israeli defense and intelligence institutions increasingly say that a new agreement along the lines of the previous one with Iran would be in Israel's interest.

He added that the discussion that included the occupation army, its intelligence wing and the Mossad has been largely in the background since 2018, when former US President Donald Trump canceled the nuclear agreement, but the matter became more prominent with President Joe Biden's pressure to revive the agreement, as he did this week, He tried to reassure allies, such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, that restoring the agreement would enhance their security.

America and Iran have interests in the nuclear deal

Senior Israeli officials believe that both America and Iran have great interests in striking a deal, as Tehran is eager to break free from harsh economic sanctions, while Washington, in addition to security concerns, wants to push Iranian oil for lower energy prices.

The report says that the new commander of the Israeli intelligence service, Aharon Haliva, and his aides argue in internal discussions that any deal, even if it has major flaws, would be better than the status quo, where Tehran is making rapid progress with its nuclear program.

They also say that it will freeze Tehran's activities at current levels, and give Israel time to rebuild its ability to attack Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

On the other hand, Israeli intelligence officials familiar with Mossad operations and political views say that Mossad leaders remain convinced that Iran will not give up its nuclear ambitions without a combination of economic sanctions, diplomatic pressure, and a campaign of sabotage and assassinations against the nuclear project. Significantly reduce all those efforts, and inject billions of dollars into Iran's coffers.


Pressure, assassinations, and sabotage operations against Iran are useless

Military officials reject this approach, saying that covert sabotage operations in recent years have done little to impede Iran's development of its nuclear project, and may even push Iran to retaliate either alone or through its militia.

The military adds that if a new nuclear agreement is not reached, the United States and Europe will abandon the issue.

In this case, Israel may be left alone in the international arena, in the face of Iran, which is advancing in its nuclear project, which analysts say is weeks away from collecting enough enriched uranium for a nuclear warhead.

The most serious mistakes since the establishment of Israel

The newspaper quoted former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo (during the administration of former US President Barack Obama) as saying - in a recent interview - that the Israeli move to persuade Trump to withdraw from the nuclear agreement was one of the most serious strategic mistakes since the establishment of Israel, noting that, in the end, Instead of harming the Iranian nuclear project, Israel has positioned itself as Iran is much closer to getting the bomb.

The report quoted Gideon Frank, who served as the head of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission, as saying that Israel is faced with a choice between two very bad alternatives, "If there is no agreement, Iran, which is currently about two weeks away from producing enough enriched material for one bomb, and two months Others for another bomb, it will be able to move forward at a rapid pace."

Frank added that if there was an agreement, Israel would gain time that would allow it to prepare an important military option, but on the other hand, Tehran would get a stockpile of money that would greatly help it survive, especially after the oil price hike.

The solution, Frank says, is that "Israel must strive to persuade Washington to use force against Iran if it crosses the nuclear threshold."