I agree with Simon Tisdall’s opinion (Trump, Netanyahu and Khamenei, three angry old men who could get us all killed, 15 June). The reckless decisions of these leaders did not take place in a vacuum. As Tisdall writes: “The roots of major conflicts often reach back decades – and this is true of the Israel-Iran vendetta, which dates to the 1979 Islamic revolution.” I suggest reaching further back to the 1950s, when Israel built its nuclear facility in Dimona and Charles De Gaulle decided to end French support unless Israel joined the non‑proliferation treaty (NPT).
After John F Kennedy’s ultimatum for safeguards, Israel accepted six inspections, until Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger condoned its nuclear status outside the NPT, provided Israel maintained nuclear ambiguity, playing down its strategic advantage. Israel concealed its nuclear status, refused to adhere to the NPT as contrary to its national security interest, and adopted the “Begin doctrine” of counter-proliferation, envisaging preventive strikes against Middle Eastern countries installing nuclear reactors that might produce nuclear weapons. Accordingly, it destroyed Iraq’s and Syria’s nuclear reactors (in 1981 and 2007 respectively) and, in cooperation with the US, damaged the Iranian nuclear facilities with the Stuxnet malware (which leaked and spread).
