Israeli officials are increasingly concerned the Biden administration is not taking the Iranian threat seriously enough and does not have a backup plan in the case a return to the 2015 nuclear deal collapses entirely, a senior Israeli official told Al Monitor.
The anonymous official told veteran journalist Ben Caspit “the situation is bad. Perhaps very bad.”
“Right now, there is no joint operational contingency plan against Iran should efforts to return to the nuclear agreement fail. And even worse, the Americans do not have any solution whatsoever to such a situation. They do not have a Plan B,” he said after a meeting between Israeli national security adviser Eyal Hulata last week with his American counterpart Jake Sullivan.
“They do not have alternatives and what is truly troubling is that they are not really concerned about it. They see events in a completely different way than we do. It’s their right, of course, but it is of great concern to us,” he added.
U.S. officials have said a military option against Iran is on the table if diplomacy fails but the Israelis are not convinced.
“How can you go at once from zero to 100? Preparing a military operation takes time. It requires measures and a modular plan; it requires displays of determination and motivation. We have not identified any of these on the American side and that scares us to death,” said the senior Israeli official.
Israel has requested the U.S. formulate a package of sanctions against Iran in case the talks fail, the report said citing Israeli media.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned Israel would not hesitate to take military action if needed.
“We’re not going to wait,” he said, according to the Times of Israel. “I expect the global powers to hold [Iran] accountable.”
“That would be the peaceful route. There are other routes,” he added.
Next week, Bennett is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.