Israel’s Former Top Security Advisor: Everything Comes Down to the Iranian Enrichment Program

Former National Security Council chief Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and a distinguished fellow at the JINSA think tank in Washington, spoke with Arutz Sheva and explained why, in his opinion, Israel should approach the agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

“It is impossible to separate the situation in Lebanon from the overall picture. That would be a mistake. The Americans are negotiating with the Iranians about something that is critical to us – the extraction of Iran’s enriched uranium and the prevention of any Iranian effort to enrich it in the future. The Iranians have, unfortunately, succeeded in tying this to the situation in Lebanon. Therefore, there is American pressure for us not to react harshly to Hezbollah in Lebanon – against our interests,” Amidror said.

He emphasized, “We cannot separate what is happening in Lebanon from our desire for the success of the American negotiations to remove enriched uranium from Iran – and that is why we are playing on both of these issues carefully. On the one hand, allowing our soldiers to defend themselves and even improve the situation on the ground. It is advisable to do this quietly because we have too many chatterboxes at the highest levels. On the other hand, we want to allow the Americans to exhaust their contacts. If they succeed in removing the enriched uranium from Iran – and the chances are slim – it will be good for the State of Israel.”

When asked why Israel trusts the Americans to succeed in advancing a move that seems almost hopeless, he replied, “Why do I think the U.S. should be given a chance despite the pessimistic assessment? Because I didn’t believe they would release the hostages from Gaza. They managed to get all the hostages out – and that taught me not to underestimate the Americans – even if they seem naive or don’t understand. The price of giving the opportunity is our less aggressive activity in Lebanon – and that is a worthy price – provided that we don’t harm the soldiers’ ability to defend themselves, and there should be no compromise on this matter.”

Read the original article in Arutz Sheva.