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The Ideological Differences Between Israeli and Iranian Leaders and Their Perception of Threat FACULTY OF SOCIAL STUDIES Israeli-Iranian Relations: The Ideological Differences between Israeli and Iranian Leaders and Their Perception of Threat Master's Thesis VIKTOR FUDALA Supervisor: Aaron Walter, MBA, Ph.D. Department of International Relations and European Studies International Relations Brno 2019/2018 3 ISRAELI-IRANIAN RELATIONS:THE IDEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ISRAELI AND IRANIAN LEADERS AND THEIR PERCEPTION OF THREAT Bibliographic Record Author: Viktor Fudala Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University Department of International Relations and European Studies Title of Thesis: Israeli-Iranian Relations:The Ideological Differences between Israeli and Iranian Leaders and Their Perception of Threat Degree Programme: International Relations Supervisor: Aaron Walter, MBA, Ph.D. Academic Year: 2018/2019 Number of Pages: 117 Keywords: Iran, Israel, ideology, threat perception, Iranian nuclear program, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hassan Rouhani, Ehud Olmert, Benjamin Netanyahu 5 ISRAELI-IRANIAN RELATIONS:THE IDEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ISRAELI AND IRANIAN LEADERS AND THEIR PERCEPTION OF THREAT Bibliografický záznam Autor: Viktor Fudala Fakulta sociálních studií, Masarykova univerzita Department of International Relations and European Studies Název práce: Ideologické rozdiely medzi izraelskými a iránskymi lídrami a ich vnímanie hrozby Studijní program: Mezinárodní vztahy Vedoucí práce: Aaron Walter, MBA, Ph.D. Akademický rok: 2018/2019 Počet stran: 117 Klíčová slova: Irán, Izrael, ideológia, vnímanie hrozby, iránsky jadrový program, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hassan Rouhani, Ehud Olmert, Benjamin Netanyahu 6 ISRAELI-IRANIAN RELATIONS:THE IDEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ISRAELI AND IRANIAN LEADERS AND THEIR PERCEPTION OF THREAT Abstract This thesis looks into the ideologies of two Israeli Prime Ministers – Ehud Olmert and Benjamin Netanyahu and two Iranian Presidents Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani. Concretely, the author wants to know how the ideologies of these leaders influence the relations and the threat perception between Israel and Iran. The timeframe of the thesis is set between 2006 when Ehud Olmert became the Prime Minister and 2015 when Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The Iranian nuclear program, as the most poignant dispute between Iran and Israel, will serve to analyze the ideologies and the perception of threat. 7 ISRAELI-IRANIAN RELATIONS:THE IDEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ISRAELI AND IRANIAN LEADERS AND THEIR PERCEPTION OF THREAT Abstrakt Táto práca sa zaoberá ideológiami dvoch izraelských premiérov - Ehuda Olmerta a Benjamina Netanjahua, a dvoch iránskych prezidentov Mahmúda Ahmadínežáda a Hassana Rouhaniho. Autor sa konkrétne zaoberá otázkou, ako ideológie týchto vodcov ovplyvňujú vzťahy a vnímanie hrozieb medzi Izraelom a Iránom. Časový rámec práce je stanovený na obdobie medzi rokmi 2006, kedy sa Ehud Olmert stal premiérom a 2015, keď Irán podpísal tzv. Spoločný komplexný akčný plán. Iránsky jadrový program, ako najpálčivejší spor medzi Iránom a Izraelom, bude slúžiť na analýzu ideológií a vnímania hrozby. 8 ISRAELI-IRANIAN RELATIONS:THE IDEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ISRAELI AND IRANIAN LEADERS AND THEIR PERCEPTION OF THREAT Statutory Declaration I hereby declare that I have written the submitted Master's Thesis concerning the topic of Israeli-Iranian Relations:The Ideological Differences between Israeli and Iranian Leaders and Their Perception of Threat independently. All the sources used for the purpose of finishing this thesis have been adequately referenced and are listed in the Bibliography. In Brno, May 5, 2019 ....................................... Viktor Fudala 9 ISRAELI-IRANIAN RELATIONS:THE IDEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ISRAELI AND IRANIAN LEADERS AND THEIR PERCEPTION OF THREAT Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor Aaron Walter, MBA, Ph.D., for his support, guidance, and mainly for his patience. I also want to thank my friend Siavash Motlagh, who helped me to understand some of the intricacies of Iranian politics. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS 13 Table of Contents List of Terms and Acronyms 15 1 Introduction 17 1.1 Theoretical Framework of the Thesis ................................................. 19 1.2 Hypothesis and Research Questions ................................................... 22 1.3 Methodology and Thesis Structure ...................................................... 23 2 Historical Background of the Israeli-Iranian Relations 25 2.1 The Israeli-Iranian Relations between 1948-1979 ....................... 25 2.2 Israeli-Iranian Relations since the Islamic Revolution until the end of the Cold War ................................................................................ 35 2.3 The Relations after the End of the Cold War until 2006 ............. 39 3 Iran: State Structure and the Ideologies of the Leaders 47 3.1 The Origin of Iran’s State Ideology ....................................................... 47 3.2 State Structure of Iran ............................................................................... 50 3.3 Personal Background and the Ideology of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ............................................................................................. 54 3.4 Personal Background and the Ideology of President Hassan Rouhani ....................................................................................................... 58 4 Israel: State Structure and Ideology of the Leaders 63 4.1 Israel’s State Structure and the Role of the Prime Minister ...... 63 4.2 State Ideology of Israel .............................................................................. 64 4.3 The Ideology of the Likud Political Party .......................................... 66 4.4 The Ideology of the Kadima Political Party ...................................... 67 4.5 The Personal Background and Political Ideology of Ehud Olmert .......................................................................................................... 68 4.6 Personal Background and Political Ideology of Benjamin Netanyahu .................................................................................................. 71 13 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 Case Study: Iranian Nuclear Program 77 5.1 Israeli Nuclear Program: ........................................................................... 77 5.2 The Beginning of the Iranian Nuclear Program .............................. 78 5.3 Iran’s Nuclear Program during Ahmadinejad’s Presidency ...... 80 5.4 Iranian Nuclear Program during Rouhani’s Presidency until the Signing of the JCPOA .............................................................................. 89 6 Evaluation 95 6.1 Comparison between Ahmadinejad and Rouhani ......................... 95 6.2 Comparison between Olmert and Netanyahu ................................. 97 7 Conclusion 100 7.1 Limits of the thesis and further research ....................................... 101 Bibliography 103 14 LIST OF TERMS AND ACRONYMS 15 List of Terms and Acronyms IDF – Israeli Defence Forces IRGC – Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps JCPOA – Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action NPT – Non-Proliferation Treaty OPEC – Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries P5+1 – Permanent members of the UNSC (United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France) and Germany PLO – Palestinian Liberation Organization SAVAK – Sāzemān-e Ettelā'āt va Amniyat-e Keshvar - Organization of National Intelligence and Security of the Nation – the Iranian secret service and secret police UN – United Nations UNGA – United Nations General Assembly UNSC – United Nations Security Council WMD – Weapons of mass destruction 15 INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction Similarities and differences in ideologies of state leaders may determine cooperation or discord between them and the states they represent. If there is an intersection between the leaders’ ideologies, the perception of threat by other countries or leaders should be lower. Conversely, with minimal or no similarities between ideologies the perception of threat grows and relations between countries tend to be uncooperative or even hostile. Therefore, this thesis will support the argument that the ideologies of leaders are a crucial part of states’ behavior towards other international subjects. The topic of this thesis is the highly problematic Israeli-Iranian relations, or more precisely, how ideologies of the leaders of these two countries shape the relations. Specifically, the thesis will focus on the ideologies of two Israeli and two Iranian leaders – Israeli Prime Ministers Ehud Olmert and Benjamin Netanyahu, and Iranian presidents – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani1.The perception of threat between the leaders and the countries constitutes an essential part of the thesis. The author of the thesis presumes that the ideologies of the leaders are a crucial part of their threat perception of the other state and its leader. The perception of threat between Israel and Iran and their leaders has been very dynamic in different periods due to various political developments in Israel, Iran, and the Middle East region. When it comes to the current international political scene, the case of relations between Israel and Iran is one of the most hostile. However, it has not always been the case. Iran and Israel enjoyed relatively good relations during the rule of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi until the Islamic revolution in 1979 when the Iranian clergy with its leader Ruhollah Khomeini overthrew the Shah’s regime. With the change of the
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