Israel and Iran appear to have completed the first round of missile strikes on each other, but what about reports that the Israeli nuclear facility in Dimona was hit?
Khinvraj Jangid, who is director of the Jindal Centre for Israel Studies, and is presently in Tel Aviv, was doubtful if that was indeed the case. Talking to StratNews Global on The Gist, he said:
“I don’t think that if something happens in Dimona, the government of Israel will be able to keep it a secret. It seems to be a psychological tactic to create the impression that Iran has hit Israel hard.”
He acknowledged that Israeli penetration of Iranian society and perhaps even sections of the ruling establishment, is of long-standing. This may not include the Persian Jewish community, which numbers about 10,000 people. Oddly enough, it appears most of them left for the US and Western shores rather than Israel after the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979.
He said the Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities were helped by a surveillance station in Amman, Jordan, that is dedicated to monitoring the nuclear goings on there. Its presence in an Arab state points to the fact that most of the Arab Gulf regimes approve of what Israel has done to Iran, but will not say so publicly.
“Iran has been the obsession of the Israeli political class for more than two decades now,” Jangid said, alluding to threats from sundry Iranian politicians to destroy the Jewish state. But he does not believe Supreme Leader Ayotollah Khameinei is in Israel’s sights.
“Israel is targeting only the radicals and the IRGC (Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps), it is not targeting any political figures.”
But Israel does want the Iranian theocracy and the rule of the ayotollahs to be ended. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s appeal to the Iranian public, that they were not the target of Operation Rising Lion, indicated his hope that they would overthrow their Islamic rulers.
Tune in for more in this conversation with Khinvraj Jangid, director of the Jindal Centre for Israel Studies.
