A perusal of newspaper headlines this week may lead the reader to the mistaken conclusion that the revolution has already occured. Indeed, a revolution in Iran is an old Israeli hope. For Israel, the end of the ayatollahs’ regime could be seen as belated compensation for the downfall of the friendly regime of the shah exactly 30 years ago. More importantly, Israel harbors the hope – not necessarily well-founded – that the Iranian nuclear program could still be checked without an aerial attack, Israeli or American. In 2003, then-chief of staff Moshe (Bogie) Ya’alon said in an interview with Haaretz that “conditions have ripened for a revolution in Iran.”
It’s still hard to anticipate how the wave of riots sweeping Iran – due to claims of election fraud after incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s alleged victory – will end. Most Israeli experts, academics and intelligence officials are not rushing to risk a prediction. The only one who has done so is Mossad chief Meir Dagan. On Tuesday, when he appeared before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, he stated in his typically emphatic manner that the unrest would end within a few days. Read the full story at HAARETZ.com.
