In a brazenly revealing interview, the outgoing chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service came the closest that any Israeli authority has come to admitting Israel’s involvement behind the recent attacks targeting Iran’s nuclear programme and a military scientist.
The details in the interview basically confirmed what was already widely speculated—that Israel had time and time again and is still attempting to sabotage Iran and its nuclear archive. For this mission, Israel has sent out Mossad agents on the ground, broken into warehouses, sparked fire at uranium enrichment sites, planned blasts at centrifuge assemblies and strongly hinted at the assassination of Iranian scientists.
The biggest takeaway from the interview is that two of the most damaging attacks on Iran, two explosions over the last year at its Natanz nuclear facility, had Israeli involvement. Last year in July, an explosion tore apart Natanz’s advanced centrifuge assembly, which Iran later blamed on Israel. In April 2021, another blast tore apart one of its underground enrichment halls. The last explosion, detonating at the lowest point of the underground halls, has eliminated Natanz as the sole site for Iran’s national uranium enrichment; a massive blow.
These attacks are illegal under international law—had Iran done the same, the US and Israel would have labelled it “terrorism.” The revelations in the interview will likely be brushed off by the international community which is a shame.
It is important to ask why Mossad’s outgoing chief is stirring trouble right when the Iran deal is back in talks and negotiations are on the table. These revelations should be added to strengthen the case against Israel’s war crimes. There also needs to be more discussion in the UN on the dangers of espionage and the lack of a clear international legal verdict on espionage in times of peace. Pakistan too has borne the brunt of terrorism incited by espionage from nearby countries—the legal silence towards it is making the region unsafe.