Christina

• Trita Parsi, "A Challenge to Israel's Strategic Primacy," Bitter Lemons, 2006

Parsi argues that Israel has been applying pressure to the US to neutralize Iran's nuclear program and that the following are the reasons why Israel would like to eradicate Iran's nuclear capabilities and the motivations behind Israel's insistence that Iran not be allowed to possess enriched uranium (although this fits within the parameters of the non-proliferation treaty):


1. Although Israeli officials realize that Iran is unlikely to attack Israel with nuclear weapons (because of Israel's capability to strike back devastatingly), Iranian nuclear capabilities damage Israel's military supremacy in the region.
2. If Iran possess nuclear weapons, this will impair Israel's ability to deter militant Palestinian and Lebanese organizations.
3. The power that Iran would gain with possession of such weapons would give Iran considerable leverage with the US, who has already collaborated with Iran in the post 9-11 period (Iranian support of US forays into Afghanistan). Parsi points out that leaked Israeli plans to strike against Iran's nuclear program coincide with hints of American preparedness to strike deals with Iran, not with advances in Iran's nuclear program.
4. Iran would gain strategic significance in the Middle East.