Facing the Iranian Challenge: The Israeli Options

There are two underlying assumptions on a possible Israeli military operation against Iran. One is that we cannot exercise a military operation as long as some kind of a true dialogue exists between the United States and Iran, whether it is direct or indirect, and as long as the diplomatic avenue is such that it stands certain chances of success. The second assumption is that Israel will not be able to carry out a military operation against Iran even if the diplomatic negotiations fail without some support from the United States. This is true at the operative level and also at the strategic level. At the operative level, as long as the United States is in Iraq and in the Gulf countries, any Israeli military operation against Iran needs coordination with the United States. At the strategic level, Israel cannot take such critical action without support of the US.