Members of Israeli security establishment contradict Netanyahu’s view of Iran deal

Some of Israel’s top security experts are contradicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s view that the Iran deal was a “historic mistake”.

Ehud Barak, a former chief of military intelligence and prime minister, who helped Mr Netanyahu develop his strategy on Iran while serving as defence minister from 2009 to 2013, said in a TV interview: “Israel can live with whatever happens there [in Iran]. We are the strongest state in the Middle East, militarily, strategically, economically — and diplomatically, if we’re not foolish.”

Although Mr Barak called the agreement a “bad deal” , he added: “The most important thing we need to do right now is restore working relations with the White House. That’s the only place where we can formulate what constitutes a violation, what’s a smoking gun and how to respond.”

Israel, Mr Barak said, is “not in an apocalyptic situation. We are not in Europe 1938 and not Palestine 1947”, when Israel fought off five Arab armies.

Meanwhile, Amos Yadlin, a former military intelligence chief, said in a Ynet interview: “The agreement isn’t good, but Israel can deal with it.”

Instead of “blowing off steam”, he said, Israel should be talking to the United States to prepare responses to violations.

Yitzhak Ben-Yisrael , who now chairs both The Israel Space Agency and the science ministry’s research and development council and has twice won the Israel Prize for contributions to Israel’s weapons technology, told Walla! News that the Vienna deal was “not bad at all, perhaps even good for Israel… it prevents a nuclear bomb for 15 years, which is not bad at all.”