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Israel and Iran: Past, Present and Future

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Israel and Iran: Past, Present and Future ISRAEL AND IRAN: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of The School of Continuing Studies and of The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Liberal Studies By Alisha Weisser, B.A. Georgetown University Washington, D.C. November 16, 2016 ISRAEL AND IRAN: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE Alisha Weisser, B.A. MALS Mentor: Ori Soltes, PhD. ABSTRACT With the recent events of the new nuclear agreement with Iran, the issue of Iran’s relationship with Israel has once again come into the spotlight. From media reports one can deduce that Israel and Iran are countries that have always been at odds with one another. Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated multiple times that he wanted to “wipe Israel off the map.” In his recent address to the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated how detrimental it would be to Israel’s security, and to the world community, if Iran were to acquire nuclear capability. While presently it may look like these countries may appear to be enemies they were once strategic allies. This thesis will examine the past, present and future of the relationship between Israel and Iran. The purpose of this thesis is twofold. The first is to show that Israel and Iran were once allies in the Middle East. The second is to examine the perspective of the Millennial generation of Israel and Iran and see if this generation could potentially rebuild relations between the two countries. The foundational sources for studying the historical relationship between Israel and Iran was Sohrab Sobhani’s The Pragmatic Entente: Israeli-Iranian Relations, 1948-1988 and The RAND Corporation’s publication Israel and Iran: a Dangerous Rivalry. Both of these sources discuss how Israel and Iran were once strategic allies ii and how over time that strategic partnership turned into a relationship of skepticism and lack of trust. The foundational source used to describe generational theory was William Strauss and Neil Howe’s Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584-2069. Morley Winograd and Michael Hais built off Strauss and Howe’s definition of generational theory in Millennial Momentum: How a New Generation is Remaking America, which was also used as a foundational source to describe generational theory. Both theorist and practitioners assert that their theory can be applied globally to other millennial generations. Sources relating the Millennial generation of Israel and Iran included current new articles and recent publications. From the research conducted it can be concluded that Millennials of Israel and Iran are going through different generational trends. While the Millennials of Israel are becoming more conservative than the generations before them, the Millennials of Iran are becoming more moderate and electing leaders who are moving away from previous held conservative views. This trend affects how willing each Millennial generation is attempts to rebuild relations and to re-establish the strategic partnership Israel and Iran once had sixty years ago. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the following people for their time, help and guidance throughout this thesis writing process: Anne Ridder, Assistant Dean and Associate Director of the Graduate Liberal Studies Program, Dr. Ori Soltes, my thesis advisor, and Dr. Elizabeth Duke and Mr. Richard Duke, professors of the Thesis Writing class. I would also like to thank my family who supported and encouraged me through my time at Georgetown University. iv CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE: A BRIEF HISTORY OF ISRAEL AND IRAN RELATIONS: PAST AND PRESENT ......................................................................................................................... 5 A Brief History of Israeli-Iranian Relations from 1948 to the Early 1990s ............................. 5 The Iran-Iraq War and The Iran-Contra Affair ...................................................................... 12 Nuclear Issues ....................................................................................................................... 13 Iran-Contra Affair ................................................................................................................. 14 Israel Views Iran as a Threat ................................................................................................. 16 Iran Views Israel as a Threat ................................................................................................. 17 Current Relations................................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER TWO: COUNTRY LEADERSHIP ...................................................................... 20 Israeli Leadership .................................................................................................................. 21 Iranian Leadership ................................................................................................................. 29 The Future of Political Leadership in Iran and Israel ............................................................. 42 CHAPTER THREE: AMERICA’S ROLE AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ISRAEL AND IRAN............................................................................................................... 44 United States Relations with Israel from 1948 to the Present. ............................................... 44 United States Relations with Iran from 1948 to the Present. ................................................. 57 What is the Future Role the U.S. Can Play in Bettering Relations Between These Two Countries? ............................................................................................................................. 75 CHAPTER FOUR: THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION ..................................................... 78 Generational Theory .............................................................................................................. 78 The Millennial Generation of Israel....................................................................................... 82 The Millennial Generation of Iran ......................................................................................... 89 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 94 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 97 ENDNOTES ............................................................................................................................ 100 Chapter One ........................................................................................................................ 100 Chapter Two ........................................................................................................................ 104 Chapter Three ...................................................................................................................... 112 v Chapter Four........................................................................................................................ 119 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 122 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................... 123 vi INTRODUCTION With the recent events of the new nuclear agreement with Iran, the topic of Iran’s relationship with Israel has once again come into the spotlight. From media reports one can deduce that these two countries have always been at odds with one another. Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated multiple times that he had wanted to “wipe Israel off the map.” In his recent address to the United Nations General Assembly Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated how detrimental it would be to Israel’s security if Iran were to have nuclear capability. However, despite this harsh language, Israel and Iran were once strategic allies in the Middle East. The downfall of this strategic alliance started with the 1979 revolution and the rise of Khomeini. This thesis will examine the past, present and future of the relationship between Israel and Iran. The purpose of this thesis is twofold. The first purpose is to show that Israel and Iran were once strategic allies in the Middle East. It will look at their relationship starting in 1948, when the modern state of Israel was created, and the dynamic of their strategic relationship. The present will analyze the current state of the relationship between these two countries and how it has changed over the years. One of the major factors that affects the current status of the relationship between Israel and Iran is who is who holds political power. Depending on who holds political power affects how much each country is willing to work with the other. Chapter One gives an overview of the relationship between Israel and Iran from 1948 to the present.
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