 |
Israeli and Saudi leaders particularly fear Iran’s attempts to develop nuclear weapons. Thus, it would only be natural that (along with the U.S.) they would back a coordinated program to at least slow up, if not permanently cripple, Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
| by Barry Lando
( October 27,
2012, Paris, Sri Lanka Guardian) A friend, with good sources in the Israeli
government, claims that the head of Israel’s Mossad has made several trips to
deal with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia—one of the results: an agreement
that the Saudis would bankroll the series of assassinations of several of
Iran’s top nuclear experts that have occurred over the past couple of
years. The amount involved, my friend
claims, was $1 billion dollars. A sum, he says, the Saudis considered cheap for
the damage done to Iran’s nuclear program.
At first blush,
the tale sounds preposterous. On the other hand. it makes eminent sense. The
murky swamp of Middle East politics has nothing to do with the easy slogans and
30 second sound bites of presidential debates.
After all,
nowhere more than in the Middle East does the maxim hold true: the enemy of my
enemy is my friend. And both Israel and the Saudis have always detested Iran’s
Shiite fundamentalist leaders. The feeling is mutual. Tehran has long been
accused of stirring up trouble among Saudi’s restless Shiites.
Israeli and
Saudi leaders particularly fear Iran’s attempts to develop nuclear weapons.
Thus, it would only be natural that (along with the U.S.) they would back a
coordinated program to at least slow up, if not permanently cripple, Iran’s
nuclear ambitions.
It also makes
perfect sense, that, in retaliation for the cyber attacks on their centrifuges, the Iranians reportedly launched
their own cyber attack on a Saudi state-owned target: Saudi Aramco, the world’s
most valuable company. Last August 15th,
someone with privileged access to Aramco’s computers was able to unleash a
virus that wreaked havoc with the company’s systems. U.S. intelligence experts
point their finger at Tehran.
Indeed, a report
earlier this year by Tel Aviv University cites Saudi Arabia as the last hope and
defense line for Israel. With most of Israel’s traditional allies in the region
sent packing or undermined by the Arab Spring, the Saudis are the Jewish
State’s last chance to protect its political interests in the Arab world.
