PM handing over Iran portfolio to Mossad chief
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon plans to hand over
responsibility for coordinating and leading
Israel's effort to prevent Iran from acquiring
nuclear weapons to Mossad chief Meir Dagan.
Sharon's office believes it is
logical for the mission to move
to the Mossad, which can gather
intelligence, analyze and
assess it and, in the future,
perhaps conduct operations.
Israel regards the emerging
Iranian nuclear threat as the
most critical to its national
security. According to Israel Defense Forces
Military Intelligence assessments, Iran will
cross the point of no return in another year,
at which time it will be able to create
fissionable material for bombs. By 2006, it
will have operational nuclear weapons. For the
last six years, Israel has been conducting a
diplomatic campaign, primarily with the help of
the United States, to block or at least delay
the Iranian project.
Sharon plans a discussion with senior security
and diplomatic officials, at which time the
plan will be finalized. So far, the National
Security Council has handled the interministry
coordination and the "leakage committee" that
coordinated the political contacts with the
U.S. aimed at foiling Iran's nuclear weapons
program. With the retirement of NSC Chairman
Ephraim Halevy, Sharon decided to reconsider
the distribution of responsibility. The
discussion was postponed because of the bus
bombing in Jerusalem two weeks ago, and was
postponed again today because Sharon fell ill.
According to the plan, Dagan, who was appointed
Mossad chief by Sharon, will coordinate the
interministry forum and other bodies will
operate according to his instructions and their
expertise. The foreign ministry will handle
diplomatic contacts, Military Intelligence will
help collect intelligence and assess it, and
the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) will provide
professional-technical support in nuclear
affairs and handle contacts with the
International Atomic Energy Agency.
Sharon's plans to hand over the Iranian
portfolio to the Mossad has raised intense
opposition in other government bodies. The
opponents believe it is a sensitive diplomatic
issue that the Mossad, as a security
intelligence agency, is not built to handle,
and therefore it should focus on its
professional sphere rather than dealing with
diplomacy. Furthermore, the Mossad has no
specific expertise in nuclear matters. The
"leakage committee," which coordinated efforts
to block Russian and other technology transfers
to Iran, is currently headed by Yisrael
Michaeli, deputy head of the NSC, who played a
key role at the AEC in the past.
The IAEA board of governors is meeting in Vienna
next Monday, and will discuss suspicions that
Iran has violated its commitments and is hiding
experiments in enriched uranium from
international inspectors. The U.S. is demanding
a declaration be made about Iranian violations
and that the matter be moved to the UN Security
Council, which is empowered to impose political
and economic sanctions. However, the
inspectors' report prepared for the meeting
next week seeks more time to complete testing,
and it is doubtful that the Americans will
manage to win agreement in the governors'
council for more aggressive steps against
Iran.
Tehran, which insists it is not developing
weapons, is now trying to gain time. It
announced last week that it would meet
international demands and sign the "additional
protocol," which expands the authority of
inspectors inside Iran. The Iranians announced
they are ready to begin negotiations for that
signature after the Vienna meeting, saying they
need time to persuade conservative elements in
the Tehran regime that it is worth Iran's while
to sign the protocol.
European Union foreign policy coordinator Javier
Solana said this week in Israel that he heard
from Iranian President Mohammed Khatami that
the protocol will only be signed after
negotiations, and not before. Solana said he
expects Iran will find it difficult to supply
explanations for the discovery of high levels
of enriched uranium at one of its facilities.
Meanwhile, the Iranians are admitting to
purchasing the enrichment centrifuges on the
black market when they were already
contaminated with enriched uranium. Solana told
his Israeli hosts, "Iran cannot be allowed to
achieve nuclear capability other than for
civilian purposes."
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