EU spy is cited as saying Israel looks to ‘provoke an Iranian response’ while ‘Trump remains in office’.
Israel is seeking to pressure Iran into a confrontation before the November elections in the US, an EU intelligence official told the Business Insider Thursday.
Referring to a chain of recent fires and explosions in Iran, the official described the Israeli approach as “maximum pressure, minimal strategy,” a more kinetic version of US President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy.
“I fear the Israeli plan here is to provoke an Iranian response that can turn into a military escalation while Trump remains in office,” the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the outlet.
The source estimated that should Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, succeed in his challenge to Trump, “there would be a lot less appetite for adventures and secret missions to blow up nuclear facilities.”
The outlet also cited a former Israeli security official as saying that some of the recent events in Iran were caused by Israeli operations, aimed at settling in a paranoid atmosphere, with sabotage suspected behind everyday accidents.
In official remarks and comments, Israeli officials have been ambiguous regarding the country’s alleged involvement with the recent incidents in Iran.
Israel’s Defense Minister and Alternative Prime Minister Benny Gantz said that not everything happening in Iran has to do with Israel.
Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, in his turn, said that as far as Iran was concerned, “we take actions that are better left unsaid.”
(i24 News).
