Michael Livschitz@MikeLivschitz
Israel would never have signed an MOU with Iran. Just think about what that stands for: Memorandum of Understanding. There is as much irony and mockery in that phrase as one can possibly imagine. This is not capitulation, not a treaty, and not an agreement. It is a parody of any rational solution.
You can talk as much as you want about hidden pitfalls, double layers, and the wisdom of politicians who supposedly thought five steps ahead and then announced their great victory. All of that is smoke and mirrors, and an unwillingness to lose influence and political dividends. You cannot consider yourself smarter than everyone else and still fail to see that the emperor has no clothes.
President Trump needed a way out of this war. He was in a hurry, and haste in matters like this is unacceptable. It puts at risk not only the military achievements of the United States, but also those of its closest ally, Israel. When it comes to fighting, we fight together. But when it comes to signing an agreement, the ally is suddenly not needed. No one asks whether Israel agrees to Iran gaining more from this deal than it had before the war. More than that, the Iranian regime had the nerve to present conditions it could never have dreamed of before its “defeat.”
What is especially interesting is that a defeat in practical terms is being sold as a victory and a great achievement. A defeat precisely because such an agreement was drafted at all, and then signed. Is it really that easy to blackmail the entire world, hold it hostage through the Strait of Hormuz, terrorize an entire region, and then get away with it? Iran is allowed to have ballistic missiles because its neighbors or other countries have them? Brilliant logic. By that same reasoning, one could draw the same parallel with nuclear weapons, could one not? If others have them, why not allow Iran to become a nuclear power as well?
But when choosing words that defend Iran’s right to build up its military potential, one should not ignore the fact that Iran is not comparable to its neighbors. It is the one using ballistic missiles to attack others, and ballistic missiles are offensive weapons by their very nature, not defensive ones.
Lebanon is a separate issue. Iran insists on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon because Israel is making it harder for its creation, Hezbollah, to breathe freely and shell Israel with impunity. The whole international community welcomes the ceasefire in Lebanon. Israel would be glad if that were true. But Hezbollah is the side that refuses to stop firing and continues to attack civilians. So what is left? To defend itself.
Israel will not allow anyone to dictate how it should live or how it should protect its people from relentless terrorist aggression. Would the United States, Spain, or France like to trade places with Israel and live under daily rocket fire? How quickly would their patience run out? And would the whole world then urge them to accept, as a fact of life, that their people are being killed by terrorists?
Enough of the hypocrisy wrapped in concern and compassion. Israel will not depend on a memorandum of understanding, or on any other agreement that endangers its national security.
