Netanyahu\'s \'Crazy\' Talk Seen Threatening Israel\'s Nuclear Ambiguity

LONDON - Israel will face mounting pressure to acknowledge the existence of its nuclear weapons arsenal as an unintended consequence of its government's belligerent stance towards Iran, according to a former Israeli intelligence chief.

Ami Ayalon, former head of the Shin Bet domestic security agency, says, “The world won't let you have nuclear ambiguity if you act crazy.”

In an interview with Rendezvous during a visit to London, Mr. Ayalon said Israel's special status was at risk as a result of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's threats of military action against Iran's nuclear plants if sanctions failed to persuade Tehran to abandon its alleged ambition to build a bomb.

Mr. Ayalon is among a number of serving and former defense and intelligence chiefs who have challenged the wisdom of threatening Iran with a unilateral strike.

His latest warning came shortly after Finland announced it would host an international conference soon to debate turni ng the Middle East into a nuclear weapons-free region. The Israeli government has said it is against such a meeting, at which the issue of Israel's own unacknowledged nuclear arsenal is certain to be raised.

“Mr. Netanyahu has been playing the role of irresponsible player in the region,” with his threats against Iran, according to Mr. Ayalon. “That raises the questions: Does he mean it? And what is the price?”

Israel would pay a huge price if it decided to go it alone against Iran, he said. If, however, it failed to take action after Mr. Netanyahu's threats, it would end up looking like a paper tiger. In any event, “the ambiguity of Israel's nuclear status is at risk.”

Under a long-standing policy, Israel refuses to acknowledge it has nuclear weapons, relying on the often-repeated mantra that it would not be the first country to introduce such weapons into the region. Unlike Iran, Israel is not a member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Following up an argument he put to Israeli military officers at a counter-terrorism conference last month, Mr. Ayalon said Israel had been allowed to maintain its policy of nuclear ambiguity as long as it acted as the “responsible adult” in the region.

Mr. Netanyahu had succeeded in grabbing the attention of the United States with his aggressive stance against Iran and had managed to turn the Iranian nuclear issue into a major issue in the U.S. presidential campaign.

“But after the U.S. elections, this issue of the Middle East as a nuclear-free zone will be back on the table,” he said.

Doubts have been raised over whether the Helsinki conference will actually take place as planned by the end of this year. Iran has been invited, while Mr. Netanyahu's office has said he is against holding the U.S.-backed meeting.

“They're convinced that if we close our eyes we can keep hiding behind blessed ambiguity,” wrote Reuven Pedatzur in Haaretz, c ommenting on the Israeli stance.

“In Jerusalem, as always,” he wrote, “any mention of Israeli nuclear weapons produces a Pavlovian response. ‘No, no, no - there's nothing to talk about and nobody to talk to.'

“In Jerusalem they're still adhering to ambiguity, which for those who are not restricted by censorship has long been an absurd fiction.”