Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is demanding full control of Israel’s Iran policy as Joe Biden prepares to take over the Oval Office and wage a fierce battle at the highest level of Israel’s government, senior Israeli officials have told me.
Why it matters: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to take a very hard line on Biden’s plan to return to the nuclear deal in 2015, as opposed to the more moderate approach taken by Secretary of Defense Benny Gantz, Secretary of State Favored Gabi Ashkenazi and the heads of Israel’s security services.
Send the news: On December 29, Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbat, by order of Netanyahu, sent a one-sentence letter to Gantz:
“As instructed by the Prime Minister, the Israeli Government’s position on the nuclear deal in Iran will be finalized by the Prime Minister solely on the basis of the analysis made by the National Security Council in the Prime Minister’s office.”
Axios received the contents of the letter, which was also sent to Ashkenazi, the Israeli ambassador to Washington Ron Dermer, the Mossad director Yossi Cohen and the IDF chief of staff, General Aviv Kochavi. No explanation was given about the timing of the letter or why it was sent, Israeli officials told me.
Behind the scenes: Gantz was stunned by Netanyahu’s letter and responded two days later with his own letter. Gantz wrote that the prime minister does have the authority to finalize Israel’s position, but does not miss almost the entire security establishment and intelligence community, while also bypassing Israel’s security cabinet.
“The issue of security and mainly the Iranian file is not just one person’s personal matter.”
– From Gantz’s letter
Gantz added that Israeli policy on the Iran deal should be the result of a broad analysis of all of Israel’s national security and foreign policy agencies, rather than just the national security council, which reports directly to Netanyahu.
- Gantz also wrote that such a policy should be approved after a serious discussion in the security cabinet.
- Prior to today, the confrontation between Netanyahu and Gantz was known only to a small group of many senior national security officials.
Between the lines: The timing of the argument – a few weeks before Biden takes office and amid Israel’s election campaign – makes it even more sensitive and dangerous.
- Although all the key players agree on the strategic goal of preventing Biden from agreeing to an agreement that harms Israeli security, they do not agree on tactics.
Hang on to the process is the fact that Netanyahu’s emphatic rejection of any agreement in 2015 effectively left Israel out of account when Barack Obama concluded the previous agreement. This has led some senior officials to seek a more collaborative approach with the US this time around.
- One Netanyahu’s adviser tells me that Netanyahu was motivated to send the letter by an interview in the Israeli press in which the outgoing head of Israel’s military intelligence research department said there was no evidence that President Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement does not serve Israel’s interests.
- Netanyahu was also upset about rumors that during the visit of U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Gantz and several senior Israeli army generals have expressed a more moderate stance on the Iran deal.
Note: Netanyahu and Gantz declined to comment on this story.