As the world prepares for the US President-elect to be sworn in to office on January 20, reports in Tel Aviv said the inner circle of Donald Trump is formulating strategic plans to topple Iran's current regime.
The far-right Israel Hayom newspaper affirmed that Israeli-American strategic cooperation would focus specifically on challenging Iran’s current leadership structure and that Trump's pick of his next team is only evidence of such plans.
The newspaper also said Iran was aware of such a trend and is suspending Operation True Promise 3, its planned response to Israel’s October 26 attack on Iranian soil.
Also, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted US sources as saying that there is a growing cautious debate in the Iranian leadership about whether to back down or try to forge a new nuclear deal with the new US administration.
Not Encouraging News
On Friday, Haaretz’ Zvi Bar’el wrote in an analysis that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian marked his 100th day in office this week, and the news isn't encouraging.
“The Iranian rial has plunged by about 20% since he took office. Prices of staple goods, electricity, water and transportation have jumped by 25 to 70%. And more than 440 people have been executed, almost double the number under former President Ebrahim Raisi,” he wrote.
Bar’el said that as the Iranian economy flounders and amid concern about new US economic sanctions against Tehran, Iran intends to use its nuclear program and the war in Lebanon to advance negotiations that will provide it with relief.
And as Trump prepares to take office armed with an anti-Iran team, Tehran is trying to build its own political, regional and international defense system.
Media sources in Israel have confirmed channels of communications were held between Tehran and the current US administration, via Baghdad.
The sources said Trump's team was briefed on the content of those contacts.
According to the same sources, the two sides spoke about preliminary understandings in several areas, including Iran's pledge not to threaten US-affiliated Shiite militias in Iraq, and to discontinue strikes on US and Israeli targets. In return, Iraq will disarm Iranian Kurdish anti-regime groups based in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Bar’el wrote at Haaretz, “It will be interesting to see which Trump now awaits Iran – the one who quit the nuclear deal or the one who seeks a 'fair deal.”
He said, “It will also be interesting to see whether the (former US Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo document gets revived despite Pompeo himself being kept out of the new administration and whether Trump will make do with some more modest achievement in the nuclear realm.”
In any case, he said, the assumption that Israel will get an American green light to attack Iran's nuclear facilities still requires proof.
“And judging by his policy during his first term, all-out war in the Middle East that could force America into direct military involvement would be Trump’s worst nightmare-as well as Iran’s,” Bar'el wrote.
