“The Netanyahu government may not have done all this damage: ‘Not every incident that transpires in Iran necessarily has something to do with us,’ its defense minister coyly said earlier this month. But reporting by The Post and the New York Times pins the largest attacks, including that at the centrifuge facility, on Israel — and Middle East analysts I consulted don’t doubt it. ‘I’m surprised the Israelis have not been more circumspect about this,’ said Dennis Ross, a former senior Mideast official in multiple administrations.

“Ross and other analysts say Netanyahu almost certainly obtained Trump administration consent, if not collaboration, for the Israeli offensive, if only because the United States is a likely target for Iranian retaliation. So far, the regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which is struggling with multiple crises, has played down the attacks, attributing some of them to gas leaks or other accidents. But if it chooses to respond, its targets could include U.S. bases in Iraq or shipping in the Persian Gulf, both of which it has already struck in the past year…

“Yet even the most ingenious attacks are unlikely to stop Iran’s nuclear work, or even limit it to the extent the nuclear accord did. Too many Iranian facilities are buried underground. In that sense, Netanyahu’s campaign, even as it exploits Trump, may be anticipating a Biden administration. Biden has said he would seek to restore the nuclear accord, and, said Ross, the Israelis believe Iran will respond positively. ‘What the Israelis have seemingly done is create space for diplomacy if Biden comes in,’ he said…”

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