Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demands complete control over Israel’s Iranian policies as Joe Biden prepares to assume the Oval Office and instigate a fierce battle at the top of the Israeli government, senior Israeli officials tell me.
Why it matters: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to take a very tough stance against Biden’s plan to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, contrary to the more moderate approach favored by Defense Secretary Benny Gantz. Foreign Affairs Gabi Ashkenazi and heads of Israeli security forces.
Driving the news: On December 29, Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbat, on Netanyahu’s orders, sent a one-sentence letter to Gantz:
According to the Prime Minister’s instructions, the position of the Israeli government on the nuclear deal with Iran will be finalized solely by the Prime Minister on the basis of the analysis conducted by the National Security Council in the Prime Minister’s office.
Axios has obtained the contents of the letter, which was also sent to Ashkenazi, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Ron Dermer, Mossad Director Yossi Cohen and IDF Chief of Staff General Aviv Kochavi. No explanation was given as to the timing of the letter or why it was sent, Israeli officials tell me.
Behind the scenes: Gantz was stunned by Netanyahu’s letter and replied two days later with a letter of his own. Gantz wrote that the prime minister does indeed have the authority to make Israel’s position final, but not to ignore almost the entire security institute and intelligence community while circumventing Israel’s security cabinet.
“The issue of security and especially the Iranian file are not the personal affairs of just one person.”
– From Gantz’s letter
Gantz added to that Israeli policy The deal with Iran must be the result of a broad analysis involving 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 serious discussion in the security cabinet.
- Before today, the showdown between Netanyahu and Gantz was known only to a small group of very senior national security officials.
Between the lines: The timing of the argument – a few weeks before Biden takes office, and in the midst of Israel’s election campaign – makes it even more sensitive and dangerous.
- While all protagonists agree on the strategic goal of preventing Biden from agreeing to a deal harming Israeli security, they disagree on the tactic.
Hang over the process is the fact that Netanyahu’s emphatic rejection of a deal in 2015 effectively sidelined Israel when Barack Obama sealed the previous deal. That has led some senior officials to seek a more cooperative approach with the US this time around.
- A Netanyahu advisor tells me that Netanyahu was motivated to send the letter through an interview in the Israeli press in which the outgoing head of Israeli military intelligence said there was no evidence that President Trump’s withdrawal from the deal of Israel.
- Netanyahu was also upset by rumors that during the visit of US Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley, Gantz and several senior generals of the Israel Defense Forces took a more moderate stance on the Iran deal.
Worth nothing: Netanyahu and Gantz declined to comment on this story.