Israeli media: Iran 'new regional superpower'
Israeli media: Iran 'new regional superpower'
Israeli political commentators have weighed in on Monday's Iranian nuclear deal, which Netanyahu said was a "threat to the existence of Israel".
4 min read
Israeli media said the agreement resulted in the birth of an internationally recognized superpower [Getty]
The Israeli press provided full coverage in analysis and comment of the ramifications of the Iranian nuclear deal and range of "essentials", which should be addressed from now on out in the political and strategical roadmap of the Middle East.
Israeli commentators seem to agree that the landmark agreement has resulted in the birth of an internationally recognised regional power, as a partner and part of the solution more than it is part of the problem.
According the Israeli media, the deal in reality confirms that the perception of Iran internationally and possibly in essence America, has totally changed from prior to the deal because it reveals they are dealing with Iran as an equal, which Iran has never dreamed of before and this full equality will dictate the future situation in the region and its conflicts.
Israeli commentators such as Amos Harel and Zvi Barel in Haaretz and Alex Fishman in Ynetnews unanimously agreed the deal is an inconvenient reality and poses major challenges for Israel but they also added despite its disadvantages it was not catastrophic for Israel's security.
This was contrary to Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu's comments which tried to depict the deal as a threat to the existence of Israel.
It is important to mention as Nahum Barnea reported that not a single word in the deal addressed Israel.
In contrast, as expected the pro-Netanyahu newspaper Israel HaYom funded by American casino mogul Sheldon Adelson was the only outlet that adopted Netanyahu's melancholy narrative.
Israel HaYom reporter Boaz Bismuth said for example the deal was a mark of disgrace on the international and western community, also Dan Margalit went as far as saying that Obama has turned Iran into superpower.
Regarding Netanyahu's efforts to prevent the deal, Ynetnews' Ben-Dror Yemini has previously said that fighting to block the deal from passing in the Congress was in practice a losing battle. Haaretz's American affairs reporter Chemi Shalev also agreed with Yemini that the deal was an inconvenient truth and that it was impossible to get around it.
Israel's future steps, in light of the challenges created by the Iranian deal and the general trend in the Israeli press, will be the Netanyahu government stressing the need to walk a different path in its dealings with the Obama administration and try to improve relations between Netanyahu and Obama on a personal level and work towards building constructive relations between Tel Aviv and the White House to milk as much military and financial aid to prepare Israel for the challenges of the coming period.
Iran as a superpower
Most Israeli analysts agreed that Iran has become a superpower, or at least a regional superpower, drawing its full legitimacy from the West and the US.
In Israel HaYom, Dan Margalit said that the US had practically sold out its "allies in the region", and that if Arab states wanted to survive, they would have to seek US protection or perhaps even nuclear weapons. He added that Pakistan was able to make its nuclear bomb thanks to Saudi funding.
According to Margalit, the new situation will force Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf to institutionalise security cooperation amongst them in order to deter Iran.
In Haaretz, Arab affairs commentator Zvi Barel said that the most important aspect of the deal was how Iran was dealt with during the negotiations as an equal to the other negotiating countries. He believes this raises questions on the future repercussions, and whether the deal will pave the way to accept Iran as a legitimate partner regionally and internationally.
He aslo pointed out to Iran's ability to employ the dispute between Obama and Israel in its favour.
According to Barel, Iran could not have established itself regionally if it had developed its nuclear programme without the deal.
A lost battle
On Netanyahu's statements about moving forward to thwart the deal, Israeli analysts agreed the chance of this were very low.
One military commentator in Haaretz even added that the military solution was no longer an option, at least not by the US, and that this solution cannot be carried out without land operations.
On the other hand, Chemi Shalev sai there was nothing Netanyahu or the US Congress could do to thwart the deal. The US will not accept being out of the international community, and it will not break the deal. The internal debate in the US, which Israel is at the heart of, will not be able to change anything, except for reaffirming the sense that Israel is isolated from other countries.
Ben-Dror Yemini believes Netanyahu's approach, which has already failed to achieve its target despite the dispute with the Obama administration, will only deepen the crisis with the US, which is still Israel's main ally despite its mistakes. In addition, the relations with the US are a strategic treasure for Israel.
Israeli commentators seem to agree that the landmark agreement has resulted in the birth of an internationally recognised regional power, as a partner and part of the solution more than it is part of the problem.
According the Israeli media, the deal in reality confirms that the perception of Iran internationally and possibly in essence America, has totally changed from prior to the deal because it reveals they are dealing with Iran as an equal, which Iran has never dreamed of before and this full equality will dictate the future situation in the region and its conflicts.
Israeli commentators such as Amos Harel and Zvi Barel in Haaretz and Alex Fishman in Ynetnews unanimously agreed the deal is an inconvenient reality and poses major challenges for Israel but they also added despite its disadvantages it was not catastrophic for Israel's security.
This was contrary to Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu's comments which tried to depict the deal as a threat to the existence of Israel.
It is important to mention as Nahum Barnea reported that not a single word in the deal addressed Israel.
In contrast, as expected the pro-Netanyahu newspaper Israel HaYom funded by American casino mogul Sheldon Adelson was the only outlet that adopted Netanyahu's melancholy narrative.
Israel HaYom reporter Boaz Bismuth said for example the deal was a mark of disgrace on the international and western community, also Dan Margalit went as far as saying that Obama has turned Iran into superpower.
Regarding Netanyahu's efforts to prevent the deal, Ynetnews' Ben-Dror Yemini has previously said that fighting to block the deal from passing in the Congress was in practice a losing battle. Haaretz's American affairs reporter Chemi Shalev also agreed with Yemini that the deal was an inconvenient truth and that it was impossible to get around it.
Israel's future steps, in light of the challenges created by the Iranian deal and the general trend in the Israeli press, will be the Netanyahu government stressing the need to walk a different path in its dealings with the Obama administration and try to improve relations between Netanyahu and Obama on a personal level and work towards building constructive relations between Tel Aviv and the White House to milk as much military and financial aid to prepare Israel for the challenges of the coming period.
Iran as a superpower
Most Israeli analysts agreed that Iran has become a superpower, or at least a regional superpower, drawing its full legitimacy from the West and the US.
In Israel HaYom, Dan Margalit said that the US had practically sold out its "allies in the region", and that if Arab states wanted to survive, they would have to seek US protection or perhaps even nuclear weapons. He added that Pakistan was able to make its nuclear bomb thanks to Saudi funding.
According to Margalit, the new situation will force Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf to institutionalise security cooperation amongst them in order to deter Iran.
In Haaretz, Arab affairs commentator Zvi Barel said that the most important aspect of the deal was how Iran was dealt with during the negotiations as an equal to the other negotiating countries. He believes this raises questions on the future repercussions, and whether the deal will pave the way to accept Iran as a legitimate partner regionally and internationally.
He aslo pointed out to Iran's ability to employ the dispute between Obama and Israel in its favour.
According to Barel, Iran could not have established itself regionally if it had developed its nuclear programme without the deal.
A lost battle
On Netanyahu's statements about moving forward to thwart the deal, Israeli analysts agreed the chance of this were very low.
One military commentator in Haaretz even added that the military solution was no longer an option, at least not by the US, and that this solution cannot be carried out without land operations.
On the other hand, Chemi Shalev sai there was nothing Netanyahu or the US Congress could do to thwart the deal. The US will not accept being out of the international community, and it will not break the deal. The internal debate in the US, which Israel is at the heart of, will not be able to change anything, except for reaffirming the sense that Israel is isolated from other countries.
Ben-Dror Yemini believes Netanyahu's approach, which has already failed to achieve its target despite the dispute with the Obama administration, will only deepen the crisis with the US, which is still Israel's main ally despite its mistakes. In addition, the relations with the US are a strategic treasure for Israel.
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