Intelligence Monitoring: A Key Issue to Prevent Iran's Deception Regarding the JCPOA

An Israeli intelligence and military official has stated that accurate intelligence monitoring of Iran to ensure it does not "deceive" in fulfilling its commitments under the JCPOA is a "key" issue. Retired General Amos Yadlin made these remarks in an interview with the Jerusalem Post on Friday, December 26. Yadlin, a former head of the military intelligence agency, has been leading a research institute focused on national security in Tel Aviv for the past two years. These comments from General Yadlin come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his anticipation for Donald Trump's inauguration to work with him on the JCPOA's cancellation. On Sunday, December 21, Netanyahu mentioned in an interview with CBS that he has prepared a five-point plan regarding Iran to present to Trump. Meanwhile, Iranian and Israeli leaders have recently resumed verbal threats against each other. Initially, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated early Wednesday that if Palestinians unite for a real battle, Israel could be destroyed within 25 years. This assessment was made during a meeting with Ramadan Abdullah Shalah, the Secretary-General of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, who has been invited to Tehran multiple times in the past year. Khamenei had previously promised "the destruction of Israel within 25 years," and some Iranian military officials have claimed that this promise could be fulfilled even sooner. Iran is a significant financial and military supporter of Palestinian groups within the "Resistance Front," such as Islamic Jihad. Khamenei has stated, "We loudly declare that we support anyone and any group in the world that stands against Israel." Concurrently, on early Wednesday, December 24, Netanyahu, during his first official visit to Astana, responded to a question from Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who asked if he had a message to convey to Tehran during his upcoming visit, saying, "Tell the Iranian leaders not to threaten Israel." Nazarbayev, who is set to visit Tehran at the invitation of Hassan Rouhani, wanted to know if Netanyahu wished for him to carry a message for Iranian leaders; Netanyahu told Nazarbayev, "Ask them why they threaten Israel?" Netanyahu added, "You and the world know that Iranian leaders constantly talk about the destruction of Israel; tell them Israel is not a helpless and cowardly country; Israel is a tiger; they do not know what they are dealing with; they are exposing themselves to serious danger." A few days earlier, Netanyahu had stated during a ceremony receiving two of fifty advanced American F-35 fighter jets, "Anyone who threatens us puts themselves in danger." The relative silence in recent months regarding mutual threats between Iranian and Israeli leaders has seemingly been broken following Trump's victory. Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan recently stated that Trump's presidency could lead to a "world war" in which "Israel is destroyed." In this context, Netanyahu stated he would discuss the JCPOA's cancellation and available options with Trump, emphasizing that he is waiting to talk about the very bad nuclear deal with Iran. Additionally, an Iranian military official stressed the necessity of establishing a naval base in Syria and Yemen, and the Israeli military intelligence assessment regarding Iran's upcoming elections was mentioned.