While Israel is routinely denying responsibility for Friday's assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the strike is likely the work Israel's renowned intelligence service Mossad. Writing in today's New York Times, the Atlantic Council's Iran expert Barbara Slavin writes that the killing was less about stopping nuclear weapons development and more about hamstringing President-elect Biden's diplomatic efforts with Iran:
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, with the support of President Trump, seems intent on scorching the earth to make it harder for any return to diplomacy under President-elect Joe Biden.
Israel and the Trump administration apparently fear that a Biden administration would seek a quick return to the nuclear agreement, which could revive Iran’s struggling economy and make it harder to contain its influence in the Middle East. Killing Mr. Fakhrizadeh makes that all the more difficult.
The Israeli government, as is its wont, has not taken responsibility for the assassination, but numerous published reports — and the audacious manner in which Mr. Fakhrizadeh was killed — strongly point toward agents of the Mossad. For its part, the Trump administration may or may not have known about the plot in advance, but Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, was recently in Israel, and the administration has not condemned the killing so far.
The killing of Mr. Fakhrizadeh, the reputed mastermind of Iran’s past weaponization efforts, will not dent Iran’s nuclear expertise, which is considerable. According to American intelligence, Iran did have a program aimed at producing nuclear warheads that ended 17 years ago, after it was detected by the C.I.A. and revealed by an Iranian opposition group." (our emphasis)
In addition to limiting Biden's diplomatic options regarding Iran's nuclear programs, it also constricts the Iranian regime's ability to engage in diplomacy, for fear of appearing weak to the most militant elements inside the regime. The assassination happened at the worst time for the incoming administration, which is apparently what both Netanyahu and his close ally, the vindictive Donald "Mango Mussolini" Trump wanted.
