On Nov. 27th, the head of Iran’s military nuclear program, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was eliminated. Fakhrizadeh has had extensive and long-standing knowledge of the coordination, procurement, and management of the many components of the program – far beyond just scientific aspects. The Iranians blame Israel and committed to revenge the killing, and despite the many pressures the Iranian leadership is under, we tend to believe them.
Interestingly, however, here lies a great opportunity for the Biden administration to enter the White House in about a month – according to reports in the United States, Biden is interested in resuming negotiations on the nuclear agreement.
The Iranians, for their part, made it clear that there was no difference between Biden and Trump, and pictures of the two were burned in the post-elimination demonstrations, alongside the US and Israeli flags.
If the Biden administration, contrary to what the EU did condemning the assassination, will send a clear message that the military nuclear program is a crime, and it is illegitimate. Hence any planning or carrying out an attack on Israel following the assassination will provoke an American response – it will reach the negotiating table with a better hand. In the Middle East, those who show weakness are not valued, those who take a stance are respected.
