If Israel is indeed behind the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of Iran's military nuclear program, then the importance of the operation speaks to Iran's relationship with the US administration no less than it does to the efforts to undermine the Islamic republic's nuclear capabilities.
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Regardless of whether US President-elect Joe Biden's administration decides to follow in the footsteps of US President Barack Obama when it comes to Iran, any new nuclear deal drafter in Washington will undoubtedly be influenced by the new president's global and regional considerations.
Biden has to take into account Israel's determination to curb Iran's nuclear aspirations in the Middle East at any cost. These aspirations pose a severe threat to Israel for the first time since June 1948.
The threat is not a nuclear one. Iran's nuclear weapons and missile technologies are meant to give the regime immunity from providing firm answers to its conventional moves or the moves of its regional proxies.
The regime aims to impose its hegemony over the region, using its brutality and sophistication while exploiting the current weakness of the Arab countries.
If the radical Islamists in Tehran harness the region's vast economic, strategic, and religious resources, Israel will struggle to defend its borders, and Europe will face immediate and considerable danger.
It is a threat of global significance, currently being actualized in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.
If necessary, Israel is willing to use force to prevent this scenario from unfolding. One has to be delusional to assume that it can be prevented without applying economic and military pressure on Iran.
If Washington and Tehran reach an agreement, it would not bode well. Iran's agreement in any matter would be conclusive evidence of its success in deceiving the Biden administration. Such a deal would be eerily similar to the 1938 Munich Agreement between Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and then-British Premier Neville Chamberlain.
Israel has been taking preventive measures against the Iranian regime in recent years, and with the Trump administration's support, Israel has succeeded in nearly stopping the regime in its tracks in Syria.
Most Arab countries know full well that only Israel can prevent this nightmare scenario. This is the main reason why the Gulf states are pursuing normalization with Israel, though some have not yet to state as much publicly.
The timing of the hit on Fakhrizadeh was not accidental, either. There are concerns that Washington might return to Obama's policies and bring Iran closer to the nuclear goals that pose an existential threat to Israel and the neighboring Arab countries.
We all remember the last time an American president gravely erred when it came to dealing with a Middle Eastern radical who was endangering all his neighboring countries: US President Dwight Eisenhower's foolishness when it came to dealing with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser that lead to the bodies of pro-American regime leaders being dragged through the streets of Baghdad. King Hussein of Jordan narrowly escaped thanks to British paratroopers. British commandos landed near Beirut to save then-Lebanese President Camille Chamoun, and the entire region was plunged into a 15-year-long war.
Fakhrizadeh's assassination, together with the Abraham Accords is a reminder for the Biden administration that the pro-American coalition in the Middle East is determined to fight Iran. This coalition can contribute to regional stability, provided the US rejects Obama's failed legacy.
Obama did not understand the regional forces. He plunged Egypt into a full-on disaster by supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and wasted the superpower's resources on the failed and puzzling focus of the Palestinian issue.
The US seeks to disengage from direct involvement in the Middle East and focus on Asia. For it to disengage responsibly, it needs to do so while stabilizing the region. The US needs to cultivate a deep partnership with Israel and the Gulf states.
Such a partnership cannot be built on American disregard of its allies' vital needs and irresponsible and dangerous coalition with the enemies of the Jewish state and Arab regimes.
May this be a reminder for Biden.
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