Jerusalem Post: Preventing an Israeli Attack on Iran Was Peres' Effort

The Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on Friday, October 1, coinciding with the funeral of Shimon Peres, the former President of Israel, that preventing a military attack by Israel on Iran was the result of Peres' efforts. The report suggests that the plan to attack Iran was related to the years 2009 to 2011, a time when there was weekly discussion about attacking Iran due to its nuclear activities, years when there was no news of the JCPOA or the lifting of sanctions. The Jerusalem Post wrote that while Benjamin Netanyahu had finalized his decision to attack Iran, Shimon Peres dissuaded him from this action by warning of its severe consequences. According to the report, Ehud Barak, the former Minister of Defense, was also among those advocating for a military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. The newspaper noted that two years before his death, Peres revealed in an interview with this newspaper that if it weren't for his intervention, Netanyahu would have moved towards war with Iran. The Jerusalem Post stated that Peres disclosed this in a conversation on August 24, 2014, with David Brin, a senior reporter for the newspaper, at the Shimon Peres Peace Foundation in Tel Aviv. According to David Brin, who was the editor of the Jerusalem Post at the time of the interview, Peres made these comments just a month after his presidency ended. At that time, the reporter asked Peres what his most significant achievement during his seven years in office was, and Peres replied that it was 'preventing an attack on Iran.' According to David Brin, Peres emphasized that he did not want to go into details but indicated, 'Let me just say that Netanyahu wanted to carry out the attack, and I did not allow it; I said the consequences of the attack would be catastrophic.' David Brin wrote that he had 'doubts' about whether to publish this interview or not, and the reason for this doubt was that he had a close friendship with Peres. The journalist added that when he asked Peres if he could publish the interview, he replied, 'Only after my death.' David Brin further states that on June 7, 2015, while he was hosting a program at the Jerusalem Post conference in New York, Meir Dagan, the former head of Mossad, and General Gabi Ashkenazi, the former Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, reiterated their opposition to an attack on Iran. Dagan revealed shortly before his death that he had defied Netanyahu and Barak's orders to prepare for an 'imminent attack' on Iran. Mr. Dagan called the order to attack Iran 'illegal.' Caroline Glick, a right-wing reporter at the mentioned conference in New York, entered into a dispute with Dagan and Ashkenazi, telling Dagan that the security cabinet had ordered him. Dagan angrily responded to this extreme Israeli reporter, 'You were not there; you have no idea what happened there.' General Ashkenazi also admitted that he did not carry out Netanyahu and Barak's request to prepare for an 'immediate attack' on Iran, but at the same time said their request was not an order. According to the Jerusalem Post, a day after the New York conference, another Israeli reporter named Ben Caspit discussed the controversy that occurred in New York with Shimon Peres at the Herzliya conference in Israel. Peres responded with displeasure, 'That journalist (Caroline Glick) was not there; how could she know; these are issues that should be discussed in the security cabinet, not in the media and in public space.' Ben Caspit later wrote on the 'Al-Monitor' website, 'Peres had the right to be displeased; he himself played a key role in those dramatic events of 2009 to 2011.' According to Ben Caspit, 'Dagan and Ashkenazi were supported by Shimon Peres, the sitting president, in defying Netanyahu and Barak's demands.' In his last year of the presidency, Shimon Peres also stated in an exclusive interview with Radio Farda, conducted on March 21, 2016, by Farnoush Ram, 'Israel will gain nothing from a military attack on Iran; we oppose war between Israel and Iran and any other country.'