Israel’s Secret Map for Iran and the Middle East
The Israeli newspaper, Times of Israel, has published a secret map for Iran and the Middle East under the pretext of releasing the book by Ilan Aviatar and Yonah Jeremy Bob, two senior journalists from the Jerusalem Post. The article titled ‘Target Tehran: Israel’s Hidden Plan to Prevent Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions and Create a New Middle East’ discusses Israel’s covert plan to hinder Iran’s nuclear ambitions and create a new Middle East using methods such as cyber warfare, assassination, and secret diplomacy.
In their book, the two authors interview spies from the prime ministers and officials of the United States and Israel about the covert tools used to stop what is perceived as an existential threat. The book was released in late September and is now available in bookstores.
Aviatar and Bob claim in their book that the disclosure of stolen archives in 2018 reveals that Iran has been secretly working on its nuclear program for years and that this program is not solely for non-military purposes. They allege that Israel’s decision to steal Iran’s nuclear archives was made two years ago in January 2016 by Yossi Cohen, the new head of Mossad, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister.
According to the authors, Netanyahu and Cohen wanted to convince the Trump administration to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, which was signed by the Obama administration in 2015. Their book documents decades of efforts led by Mossad, including sabotage and assassinations inside Iran, to prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
As part of their research, both authors had extensive access to Cohen, who led Mossad until 2021. Cohen designed and directed many operations, including covert diplomacy that led to the Abraham Accords in September 2020, which were planned in the heart of Tehran.
Bibi and Aviatar also had access to former Mossad directors, Mayer Dagan and Tamir Pardo, as well as many other Israeli intelligence agents from the past and present, and a significant number of American officials from the Trump and Biden administrations.
Times of Israel contacted Aviatar and Bob in Beit Al-Muqaddas through the Zoom software to talk about their book. The details of this conversation are based solely on the claims made by the book’s authors and are not confirmed by the World Economy newspaper. It is published solely to reflect the Israeli enemy’s perspective on Iran.
Times of Israel’s book starts on January 31, 2018, with details of thousands of document thefts. What kind of planning was involved in this espionage operation? Aviatar’s planning lasted for two years. Mossad had precise information about these facilities. When they entered, they knew exactly which safe they had to steal and how long the theft should last. They knew where the guards were until the very last moment. This team had exactly six and a half hours to find a significant amount of documents, put them in trucks, and escape.
This book also addresses various issues, such as the assassination of Iranian scientists and sabotage of nuclear facilities, and Iran’s response to these attacks by Israel. Iranian authorities have attempted to retaliate. For example, David Barnia, the current head of Mossad, stated in early September that Israel has thwarted 27 attempts by Iran to attack Israel. Additionally, there have been efforts by Iranians to target Israeli traders in Cyprus.
In November 2020, Mossad assassinated Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, an Iranian nuclear scientist. Can you talk about the significance of this assassination? Fakhrizadeh was one of the fathers of Iran’s nuclear program. He was mentioned as the Robert Oppenheimer of Iran, one of the nuclear inspectors. Fakhrizadeh had extensive knowledge of Iran’s nuclear program. After his assassination, many people said that this blow was as important as the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani.
After the assassination of General Soleimani on January 3, 2020, the Trump administration took full responsibility for it. But was Mossad involved? Did they, for example, share any information with the United States? It is clear that Israel was involved in various ways. I asked Tamir Hayman, the former head of Israeli military intelligence, to tell me how much Israel contributed to finding the information that helped the United States change its position on the assassination of General Soleimani.
In our book, we also examine the idea that Israel provided several mobile phone numbers to the CIA to track General Soleimani and accurately determine his location for the targeted drone strike. The issue of mobile phones was of particular importance because General Soleimani changed them at least three times during his 6-hour journey from Damascus to Baghdad.
We also investigate the possibility that Israeli and US intelligence were involved in employing individuals who had access to General Soleimani’s flight information prior to his trip from Damascus to Baghdad.
The claim that Israel was involved in the assassination of General Soleimani was not unpredictable. General Soleimani was a major enemy of Israel, and his main strategy was to create a ring of fire around Israel, mainly through supporting resistance groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen.
Another topic explored in this book is the covert actions carried out by Mossad to build diplomatic trust between Israel and Gulf countries in the past few years. These actions ultimately led to the Abraham Accords and the establishment of relations between Israel and Sudan and Morocco. However, many things have changed since the October 7 attack. How the Israel-Hamas conflict affects Israel’s relations with the signatories of the agreement in the short to medium term is likely to have complex implications.
Despite the October 7 war, the relations between Israel and the signatories of the Abraham Accords remain intact. While the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have openly condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, both Gulf countries have stated that they will not sever their relations with Israel. Several Emirati officials have publicly and explicitly stated that the Abraham Accords are here to stay. The situation in Bahrain is slightly different.
In this kingdom, the majority of Shia have expressed their public anger, and currently, the situation of relations with the summoned ambassadors, who have been called under uncertain circumstances, is ambiguous. However, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, has openly condemned Hamas, while Bahraini sources say that the kingdom has no intention of severing relations with Israel. In the long run, it can be expected that the relations between Israel and the signatories of the Abraham Accords will gradually return to normal unless a major development leads to worsening of the Gaza war or escalation of wider regional conflicts.
Before October 7, the Biden administration was making strong efforts to achieve a deal in which Washington would provide official security guarantees to Saudi Arabia, and in return, the Saudis would establish diplomatic relations with Israel. This deal currently does not seem very likely, or at least it does not appear that there will be any immediate changes to what is needed for it. How the Israel-Hamas war has affected potential relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia remains to be seen.
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have condemned Israel’s response to Hamas’ attack, in line with their previous statements. In response to the escalating public anger, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has called for a ban on arms exports to Israel, stating that Saudi Arabia and Israel are getting closer to each other every day, as he had mentioned before the October 7 attack.
On the other hand, Saudi-controlled media outlets have taken a moderate stance towards Israel and condemned Hamas. US President Joe Biden has stated that one of the goals of Hamas’ attack was to eliminate the possibility of an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel. However, while progress cannot be expected at the moment, the White House has emphasized that Saudi Arabia will return to normalization talks after the dust settles.
If these talks resume in a normal manner, what potential diplomatic obstacles could arise? Specifically, what carrot will the United States offer to bring Saudi Arabia back to future diplomatic negotiations with Israel?
After the end of the United States’ war, Avatar will seek to create a kind of grand agreement and restore the two-state solution to the table. Whatever happens on that front largely depends on the timing of the end of the war and the government that will be in power in Israel. The relinquishment of any amount of occupied land to the Palestinians in the foreseeable future or in the medium term deeply depends on how these issues are handled.
In this book, you write about Iran while direct military attack is the last option. Israel has prepared itself for such a possibility, considering the fact that Iran has close relations with Hamas today, especially after October 7th. In the short term, Israel may be more focused on Iran, but in the medium and long term, if the Islamic Republic intends to cross the nuclear threshold, Israel will likely be more prepared than ever before.
In mid-November, the Financial Times published an article quoting a senior Iranian diplomat who stated that they do not want the Israel-Hamas conflict to escalate further. However, they also warned Washington that if Israel continues its attacks on Gaza, a regional confrontation would be inevitable. How can we interpret such two-sided statements?
As we explain in the book, Iran is skilled in the art of dual language. Iran, facing a powerful presence of the United States in the region and with Hamas as one of its proxies, has no interest in direct involvement in the conflict. The more important question is whether and how Israel will attack Tehran due to its support for Hamas and its use of Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels in Yemen to target Israel.
Israel and Qatar do not have official relations. How do you see the future of their relations in the coming weeks and months, especially considering Qatar’s role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas?
Qatar’s mediation has been effective in securing the release of some hostages, but increasing voices in Israel are heard demanding that Doha does not engage in double play. Qatar provides significant financial and diplomatic support to Hamas, and several Hamas leaders are living in Doha with Qatar’s backing. A senior official from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that we will hold Qatar accountable after the release of the hostages.
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