The killing on Friday of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh might bring more within it than what it seems like. The latest assassination is putting Israel, the US and Iran in a very sensitive position. According to Barbara Salvin “Why Was Iran’s Top Nuclear Scientist Killed?”, the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh isn’t about stopping a bomb — it’s about preventing diplomacy. Joe Biden doesn’t have to let it work.
The Trump administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal pushed Iran to produce a large amount of uranium, but it is not close to the level needed to produce a nuclear weapon. Iran has said repeatedly that it will go back into full compliance with the nuclear agreement if the Biden administration agrees to do the same, and lifts the onerous sanctions piled on by President Trump. However, the recent assassination of its top nuclear scientists has made Iran take a step back and made the diplomacy between Iran and the new US administration under the leadership of Joe Biden harder.
The Trump administration is fearing an expected return to the Iran nuclear agreement by the Biden’s administration. Both the current Trump administration and Israel are fearing that such action would revive Iran’s struggling economy and make it harder to contain its influence in the Middle East.
Ghada,
You have analyzed the situation correctly. This assassination was almost surely an attempt by Israel to “throw a wrench into the machine” to prevent US-Iranian reengagement in the Biden administration. Whether the Trump administration had prior knowledge of Israel’s plans remains to be seen. While I am a supporter of the JCPOA and hope very much that the US will rejoin and that Iran will then stop enriching uranium, it’s important to recognize the fact that Iran has continued to export highly accurate intermediate range missiles to Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, and this issue MUST be addressed or the JCPOA will become meaningless. Tom Friedman has a column on this very subject in today’s NYT (11/30).
–Professor Wallerstein