March 11, 2014 | Quote
IDF Seizure of Gaza-Bound Missiles Sheds Light on Non-Nuclear Elements of Iran’s Strategy
While international attention continues to focus on the Iranian nuclear program and diplomatic efforts to address it, the Israeli Navy’s March 5 interception of an Iranian ship full of Syrian-made missiles bound for Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza sheds new light on other dimensions of the Islamic Republic’s strategy.
“The nuclear program is the fast mover in international discussions, but the delivery capabilities are extremely important,” Ilan Berman, vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC, told JNS.org. “The Iranians are working very diligently on expanding the scope and lethality of their missile program (a delivery vehicle for nuclear weapons).”
In the wake of the interception, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his concern that while Iran “is conducting these [nuclear] talks, and smiling to the international community, it continues to arm terrorist groups.” But White House Spokesperson Jay Carney said the U.S. plans to continue pursuing a diplomatic resolution with Iran on its nuclear program.
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Dr. Emanuele Ottolenghi, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that while the international community “has chosen to believe that the crisis in Syria can be solved following a diplomatic path,” some “genuinely believe that Iran—despite its unflinching support for the Assad regime and their contribution to the brutality—could help solve the crisis.”
“It is because of this that we see a great reluctance to confront Iran on the matter of Syria or on Iran’s support for terror activities and sponsorship of Hezbollah and Hamas,” Ottolenghi told JNS.org.