Cohen: Tehran not close to getting nuke
Israel must be able to stop an attack alone, ex-Mossad director tells ‘Post’ conference
There is greater opposition to Iran’s nuclear program than in the past, former Mossad director Yossi Cohen said Tuesday at the Jerusalem Post Conference.
“I think that Iran, to this day, is not even close to acquiring a nuclear weapon... This is due to longstanding efforts by some forces in the world,” he said in response to a question by Jerusalem Post intelligence reporter Yonah Jeremy Bob, which included references to Israeli covert actions in the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s position is also weaker in that there is “less foreign support for what [it is] doing than in the past,” he said.
If Iran develops a nuclear weapon, Israel must be able to stop it on its own, Cohen said.
Asked if that would be possible without bunker-buster bombs, he responded: “We have to develop capabilities to allow us to be absolutely independent, doing what Israel has done twice before” – bombing nuclear reactors in Syria and Iraq.
“They should not sleep quietly in Iran,” he added.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, is a misnomer, Cohen said.
“In the JCPOA, the C stands for comprehensive,” he said. “It isn’t comprehensive; it has to be comprehensive.”
The deal must be “completely refurbished – not only in one different subject, but completely” – to be effective, Cohen said. “If it isn’t, Iran will continue to have the capabilities it has today or even higher.”
Cohen spoke about how the Mossad, under his leadership, smuggled an entire nuclear archive from Iran into Israel in 2018. That archive referred to three previously unknown nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi “should take these under consideration when allowing countries to sign... the future JCPOA,” he said.
“Unless Iran comes completely clean about their deeds in the past, a nuclear agreement should not be signed,” he added. “Grossi
should not allow that.”
Cohen also spoke about his involvement in the Abraham Accords normalization and peace agreements between Israel and Muslim states.
The accords are “one of the greatest accomplishments ever,” “a majestic thing” and “no less than a miracle for Israel,” he said.
“I hope, I pray that this wave will continue,” Cohen said. “Modern nations have to be in touch with the State of Israel today. That’s because we are so innovative. We believe we have to bring the smartest people around the globe working shoulder to shoulder with us and our tech.
“I believe the light of the State of Israel reaches everybody,” he said. “It is known by all nations.”
Cohen, who is now the head of SoftBank Israel’s investment operations, deflected questions about whether he plans to enter politics. “I’m in business now,” to have visited King Abdullah of Jordan in Amman and spoken with presidents Abdul Fatah al-Sisi of Egypt, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority.
“I am committed to fostering such dialogue and open lines of communication with world leaders on behalf of the nation of Israel,” he said. “I believe it is part of our duty to have a dialogue with anyone in the region who wishes or wants to have a dialogue with us.”
Speaking at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, Herzog made tolerance and dialogue the central themes of his speech, saying intolerance and lack of respectful communication have led to a crisis of liberal democracy within countries and a crisis of the liberal democratic world order.
“Tolerance must be a foundation of our society and will be a focal point of my term as president of Israel within Israeli
society,” he said. “Without it, we must understand, the breakdown of dialogue is a threat, both internal and external, because it jeopardizes the institutions of liberal democracy and the mechanisms of a decent world order or social order.”
The Abraham Accords are an encouraging example of the positive impact of dialogue, Herzog said, while the Iranian threat is an example of the breakdown of dialogue.
“Here we see the world’s failure to act in concert to settle on a strategy to sever Iran’s tentacles in the Middle East, to restrain its ballistic-missile program and to shut down its nuclear program,” he said. “Iran is exploiting this inaction, this lack of coordination, [which is] a clear threat to international peace and security.”
Herzog also focused on climate change, calling on the world to work together to meet this challenge.
“I intend to push forcefully on this issue of the climate emergency,” he said.
Herzog expressed hope that at the global summit on climate change next month in Glasgow, Scotland, “dialogue, concern for our children’s future and concern for the world that we are blessed to live in together will prevail over short-term interests and impulses.”
Within Israel, Herzog said he sees his role as president as a bridge builder between the diverse parts of Israeli society and the Jewish world.