After the assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist Fahrizad, an unnamed senior U.S. government official recently identified Israel as the behind-the-scenes man at a time of speculation about who the murderer was.
CNN reported on December 2 that the official said that in the past, Israel would share information about goals and actions with the United States before carrying out covert operations, but he refused to disclose whether the Trump administration knew about the plan or supported the operation before the attack.
The Governor of Chang’an Street (WeChat ID: Capitalnews) noted that after the attack on November 27, after the death of Fahrizad, Iranian people held a demonstration that night. Hardline protesters called for war on the United States, and the official of the U.S. government remained silent about the matter.
Some analysts say that there is obviously a certain degree of “collusion” between the United States and Israel. Today, the United States and Israel have started a mutual identification mode.
CNN quoted the official as saying that current US President Trump has authorized Secretary of State Pompeo to continue the current government’s “extreme pressure” strategy on Iran for the next two months, after which more sanctions will be imposed by the United States against Iran.
The official claimed that the U.S. believes that Iran may launch retaliation on January 3, 2021, the first anniversary of Suleimani’s death, “but there are not many retaliation options for Iran at that time, because U.S. President-elect Biden will take office on January 20.”
The official analyzed that if Iran takes action against the United States, especially killing American citizens, it will be difficult for Biden to lift sanctions against Iran after he takes office to facilitate the resumption of diplomatic negotiations.
At the same time, Israel neither denied nor admitted responsibility for Fahrizad’s death. Iranian state television reported on November 30 that Iran has obtained the necessary evidence for Israel’s involvement in the assassination of Fahrizad.
According to the report, according to an Iranian government source, there is evidence that Israel is involved in the assassination of Fahrizad, and the Israeli government also used members of Iranian opposition groups in the operation to support and prepare for the assassination. The source stressed that the weapon that assassinated Fahrizad carried the logo of Israeli military products and was made by Israel and controlled by satellites.
If it is Israel, what is the purpose of its assassination? The Washington Post has previously analyzed two possibilities related to the United States. First, Israel may seek to provoke Iran to respond militarily to the incident. While the Trump administration hostile to the Iranian government is still in power in the United States, Iran’s military response will in turn become the United States’s attack on Tehran’s nuclear program. The second motive is that the Israeli government is trying to undermine the conditions for the replacement of U.S. relations with Iran, and it is likely that the United States will reset its relations with Iran after the new government led by U.S. President-elect Biden takes office next year.
Obviously, it is difficult for the United States to get rid of suspicions. In an interview with the Times of Israel, former head of Israel’s military intelligence, Adelin speculated that there was obviously a certain degree of “collusion” between the United States and Israel. He said that U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo recently visited Israel and “obviously he did not come here for a drink.”
CNN previously reported that Fahrizad has also been closely monitored by the United States in recent years. In a 2018 speech, Pompeo unilaterally accused the Iranian government of “overprotecting and hiding Fahrizad because he is the core of Iran’s nuclear program”.
However, after the assassination, the U.S. government officials remained silent. CNN analysis said that this highlights the refusal of his top advisers to fall into the risk of conflict with Iran at the end of Trump’s term.
According to the report, the current view of the U.S. military is that there is no reason for the United States to launch an attack unless directly provoked by Iran. A U.S. official told CNN that the “most unnecessary thing” of the United States at present is to clash with Iran.
At present, the United States and Israel identify each other as suspected, and as developments develop, the truth will surface.
