Iran-Israel relations

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Israel-Iran relations
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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at the World without Zionism conference
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at the World without Zionism conference

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Relations between Iran and Israel have alternated from close political alliances between the two states during the era of the Pahlavi dynasty to hostility following the rise to power of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Currently, the countries do not have diplomatic relations with each other. Iran does not formally recognize Israel as a country, and official government texts often simply refer to it as the "Zionist entity " or the "Zionist regime."

Iran was the second country (after the United States) to formally recognise the establishment of the State of Israel.[citation needed] This was however rescinded in the 1950s.

Iran has the largest Jewish population in the Middle East outside of Israel; the Iranian Jewish community is guaranteed one seat in the Majlis, currently held by Maurice Motamed. A larger population of Iranian Jews reside in Israel with the former President of Israel Moshe Katsav, former Chief of Staff and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, former Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and Israeli hip-hop star Subliminal being the most famous of this group.

Contents

[edit] Pre-revolution relations

Upon its establishment in 1948 and until the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Israel enjoyed cordial relations with Iran (then ruled by the Pahlavi dynasty). Israel viewed Iran as a natural ally due to its position as a non-Arab power on the edge of the Arab world, in accordance with Ben-Gurion's concept of an alliance of the periphery. However, Mohammad Mossadeq, the nationalist Prime Minister who nationalized Iran's oil, unrecognized Israel when he was elected in the 1950s. Iran was one of the first nations to internationally recognize Israel, and was considered one of Israel's closest and few Muslim friends (Israel has maintained a stable partnership with Turkey, as well). The Shah's regime did not formally recognize Israel, although Israel had a permanent delegation in Tehran, which served as a de facto unofficial embassy. In the aftermath of the Six Day War and the closing of the Suez Canal, Iran supplied Israel with a significant portion of its oil needs as well as facilitating the transfer of Iranian to European markets via the joint Israeli-Iranian Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline. The two nations had numerous business transactions, although the extent of these dealings was never officially quantified. Also, Israeli construction firms and engineers were active in Iran. Iranian-Israeli military links were kept secret, but they are believed to have been wide-ranging.[1] In spite of this, Iran voted in support of the UN General Assembly Resolution 3379 in 1975 which equated Zionism with racism (the resolution, however, was later revoked with Resolution 4686 in 1991, which post-revolution Iran voted against). However, Iran and Israel did develop close military ties during this period. This can be seen from the development of joint venture military projects, such as Project Flower, the Iranian-Israeli attempt to develop a new missile [2]. For details on Iran's strategic reasoning during the 1970s, see "Israel and the Origins of Iran’s Arab Option: Dissection of a Strategy Misunderstood," Middle East Journal, Volume 60, Number 3, Summer 2006.

[edit] Islamic Revolution

It was Ayatollah Khomeini who first declared Israel as an "enemy of Islam" and 'The Little Satan' during the second Pahlavi period in his campaign against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who supported Israel [1](the United States was called 'The Great Satan'). Khomeini also called for Israel's destruction. [2] After the second phase of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which witnessed the establishment of the Islamic Republic, Iran withdrew its recognition of the state of Israel and cut off all official relations; official statements, state institutes, events and sanctioned initiatives adopted a sharp anti-Zionist and arguably antisemitic stance, such as the 2005 "World Without Zionism" conference in Teheran[3]. Iranian military parades started featuring ballistic missiles adorned with slogans such as 'Israel must be uprooted and erased from history'.[4].

However, declassified reports exist which show Israel supplying Iran with weapons during the Iran-Iraq war. [3]. Iran is said to have purchased weapons valued at $2.5 billion from Israel through third party intermediaries during the Iran-Iraq war during the 1980s and 1990s (an Israeli source) [4] which ultimately drew.[5][6]

In 1998, Israeli businessman Nahum Manbar was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Israel for doing business with Tehran, and in the course of the investigation, "hundreds of companies" were found to have illegal business dealings with Iran. [7] The fall-out reached the United States as some transactions were alleged to have been part of the Iran-Contra scandal.

According to Dr. Trita Parsi, author of "Treacherous Triangle - The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the United States," (Yale University Press, 2007), Iran's strategic imperatives compelled the Khomeini government to maintain clandestine ties to Israel, while hope that the periphery doctrine could be resurrected motivated the Jewish State's assistance to Iran.

[edit] Khamenei

The Grand Ayatollah was very much against Israel's existence. He has proclaimed,

“ This cancerous tumor of a state [Israel] must be removed from the region.[5][6] „

[edit] Khatami

Under reformist Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, elected in 1997, some believed Iran and Israel would work to improve relations. While at first Khatami's election did not seem to change anything—he called Israel an "illegal state" and a "parasite," [8] signs of small moderation did appear. For example, Khatami has said that Jews should be "safe in Iran" and that all religious minorities should be protected.[9]. In January 2004, he spoke to an Israeli reporter who asked him on what grounds Iran would recognize Israel. This was believed to be the first time he had spoken publicly with an Israeli.[10]

At the funeral of Pope John Paul II in April 2005, Khatami was seated close to Israeli President Moshe Katsav, who is from the same province as Khatami. Katsav said that he shook Khatami's hand and the two had a brief conversation about Iran (Katsav was born in Iran). However, Khatami denied this [11].

Other reports indicate that Iran did try to initiate a rapprochement with Israel, recognizing its existence in a proposal to the United States. The report claims that Iran's peace proposal with Israel was not accepted by the United States.[7]

[edit] Ahmadinejad

Main article: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel

As of 2006 relations between the two states became very tense primarily due to the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. After his election, Ahmadinejad frequently began to call for a complete end to the State of Israel (later claimed to have meant through non military means), and has made various controversial remarks regarding Israel and the Holocaust.

On December 8, 2005, Ahmadinejad gave an interview with Iran's Arabic channel 'Al-Alam' during a summit of Muslim nations in Islam's holy city of Mecca:

"Some European countries insist on saying that during World War II, Hitler burned millions of Jews and put them in concentration camps," Ahmadinejad said. "Any historian, commentator or scientist who doubts that is taken to prison or gets condemned. Although we don't accept this claim, if we suppose it is true, if the Europeans are honest they should give some of their provinces in Europe—like in Germany, Austria or other countries—to the Zionists and the Zionists can establish their state in Europe. You offer part of Europe and we will support it."

[edit] Iran-Israel military relations

According to the report of the U.S. Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair issued in November of 1987, "the sale of U.S. arms to Iran through Israel began in the summer of 1985, after receiving the approval of President Reagan." [12] These sales included "2,008 TOW missiles and 235 parts kits for Hawk missiles had been sent to Iran via Israel." Further shipments of up to US$2 billion of American weapons from Israel to Iran consisting of 18 F-4 fighter-bombers, 46 Skyhawk fighter-bombers, and nearly 4,000 missiles were foiled by the U.S. Department of Justice, and "unverified reports alleged that Israel agreed to sell Iran Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, radar equipment, mortar and machinegun ammunition, field telephones, M-60 tank engines and artillery shells, and spare parts for C-130 transport planes."[13] [14] The Observer also estimated that Israel's arms sales to Iran during the war totalled US$ 500 million annually [15], and Time Magazine reported that throughout 1981 and 1982, "the Israelis reportedly set up Swiss bank accounts to handle the financial end of the deals." [16] [8]

Israel also was involved in the arming of Iran prior to the Iran-Iraq war:

  • Project "Flower" Tzur, a joint collaboration between Iran and Israel, aimed to develop a "state-of-the-art sea-to-sea missile, an advanced version of the U.S. Harpoon missile, with a range of 200 kilometers." (See: Ronen Bergman, "5 billion Reasons to Talk to Iran," Haaretz (Tel Aviv), 19 March 1999; in "Israel's Outstanding Debt to Iran Viewed," FBIS Document FTS19990319001273, 19 March 1999.
  • Israeli Defense Minister General Ezer Weizmann and Iranian Vice Minister of War General Hasan Toufanian discussed the co-production of Israel's Jericho-2 missile, code named Project Flower. (See: "Minutes from Meeting Held in Tel Aviv between H. E. General M. Dayan, Foreign Minister of Israel, and H.E. General H. Toufanian, Vice Minister of War, Imperial Government of Iran," Top Secret Minutes from Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 18 July 1977, in Digital National Security Archive)

Israeli arms deals to Iran continued after the war, although sporadically and unofficially. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]

[edit] Perceptions of Israeli threats to attack Iran during 2003-2007

A Scottish newspaper claimed in November 2003 that Israel warned that it is prepared to take unilateral military action against Iran if the international community fails to stop any development of nuclear weapons at the country's atomic energy facilities.[9] It cited Israeli defence minister Shaul Mofaz stating, "under no circumstances would Israel be able to tolerate nuclear weapons in Iranian possession". In December 2005, a British newspaper claimed that the Israeli military had been ordered by then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to plan for possible strikes on uranium enrichment sites in Iran in March 2006, based on Israeli intelligence estimates that Iran would be able to build nuclear weapons in two to four years. It was claimed that the special forces command was in the highest stage of readiness for an attack (state G) in December. Ariel Sharon reportedly said, "Israel - and not only Israel - cannot accept a nuclear Iran. We have the ability to deal with this and we're making all the necessary preparations to be ready for such a situation."[10] Israeli military Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz, was quoted as responding to the question of how far Israel was ready to go to stop Iran's nuclear energy program with the statement "Two thousand kilometers".[11]

Seymour Hersh has also claimed that U.S. Department of Defense civilians led by Douglas Feith have been working with Israeli planners and consultants to develop and refine potential nuclear, chemical-weapons, and missile targets inside Iran[12].

Israel is estimated to have between 200-400 nuclear weapons and well-developed missile delivery systems, but there are neither confirmations nor denials nor other information regarding the intent to use them in the operations allegedly being planned.

On 08 May 2006, Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres said in an interview with Reuters that "the president of Iran should remember that Iran can also be wiped off the map," Army Radio reported.[13] Peres, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, drew unusually stiff criticism from an analyst on Israel's state television, Yoav Limor, for talking of destroying another country.[14]

On May 26 2006, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov reiterated Moscow's commitment to supply Iran with sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles.

A secret Israeli plan to strike Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities at Natanz with nuclear bunker busters was disclosed to The Times in January 2007. [22] [23] The report alleged that[10]:

The Israeli weapons would each have a force equivalent to one-fifteenth of the Hiroshima bomb. Under the plans, conventional laser-guided bombs would open “tunnels” into the targets. “Mini-nukes” would then immediately be fired into a plant at Natanz, exploding deep underground to reduce the risk of radioactive fallout. “As soon as the green light is given, it will be one mission, one strike and the Iranian nuclear project will be demolished,” said one of the sources.

The tactical nuclear weapons would only be used if conventional weapons were "ruled out" and if the United States "declined to intervene", the article continues, based on "senior" military sources.

Most members of the Israeli government and military refused to comment on the report. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev denied the plans for a military intervention, saying that Israel is supporting diplomatic efforts.[citation needed] Ephraim Kam, a strategic expert at Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Strategic Studies and a former senior army intelligence officer, also dismissed the report. "No reliable source would ever speak about this, certainly not to the Sunday Times," Kam told the Associated Press.[citation needed]

[edit] Israeli officials of Iranian descent

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Al Jazeera: Khomeini coined the term 'Little Satan' for Israel
  2. ^ "Khomeini Called for Israel's destruction",France24, 2008-03-10
  3. ^ Al Jazeera: World Without Zionism Conference, Teheran
  4. ^ Erase Israel slogans spotted on Iranian ballistic missiles in Teheran Army Parade
  5. ^ Arabs Still Want to Destroy Israel by Daniel Pipes, Wall Street Journal, 18 January 2002
  6. ^ Little fanfare in Iraq "Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for the destruction of Israel, saying it was the only way to solve the problems of the Middle East." CNN, 1 January 2000
  7. ^ See: "Iran offered 'to make peace with Israel'" by Gareth Porter. Asia Times, May 2006. Link: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HE26Ak01.html
  8. ^ (For more on Israeli Hawk missile sales to Iran see Richard Johns, "Arms Embargo Which Cannot Withstand The Profit Motive," Financial Times (London), 13 November 1987)
  9. ^ Israel threatens strikes on Iranian nuclear targets, Ross Dunn, Scotsman.com, November 23, 2003
  10. ^ a b Israel readies forces for strike on nuclear Iran, Uzi Mahnaimi, December 11, 2005, The Sunday Times
  11. ^ Israel's War with Iran, James Petras, uruknet.info, December 28, 2005 - this has a quote apparently from the Financial Times
  12. ^ http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?050124fa_fact
  13. ^ Peres says that Iran 'can also be wiped off the map' - DominicanToday.com
  14. ^ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/3850070.html
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