TREACHEROUS ALLIANCE TREACHEROUS ALLIANCE the secret dealings of israel, iran, and the united states trita parsi yale university press / new haven and london A Caravan book.For more information,visit www.caravanbooks.org. Copyright © 2007 by Yale University. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced,in whole or in part,including illustrations,in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 ofthe U.S.Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press),without written permission from the publishers. Set in Minion and Franklin Gothic types by The Composing Room ofMichigan,Inc. Printed in the United States ofAmerica. Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Parsi,Trita. Treacherous alliance :the secret dealings ofIsrael,Iran,and the United States / Trita Parsi. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-300-12057-8 (hardcover:alk.paper) 1. Iran—Foreign relations—Israel. 2. Israel—Foreign relations—Iran. 3. United States—Foreign relations—Middle East. 4. Middle East— Foreign relations—United States. I. Title. DS274.2.I75P37 2007 327.5694055—dc22 2007018945 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability ofthe Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity ofthe Council on Library Resources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Amina For your love, for your laughter and for standing firm when weaker hearts succumb And to Darius, my eternal love I hope to be as good of a parent to you as my parents were to me CONTENTS PREFACE xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xvii CHAPTER1 Introduction: An Eight-Hundred-Pound Gorilla 1 part one. the cold war era CHAPTER2 An Alliance of Necessity: The Secret Friendship of the Shah 19 CHAPTER3 Rise of Israel, Rise of Iran 29 CHAPTER4 Iran’s Quest for Supremacy 39 CHAPTER5 Sealing Demise in the Moment of Triumph 49 CHAPTER6 Megalomania 61 CHAPTER7 The Rise of Begin and the Israeli Right 68 CHAPTER8 Enter the Sign of God 79 CONTENTS viii CHAPTER9 Ideological Shifts, Geopolitical Continuities 87 CHAPTER10 Saddam Attacks! 97 CHAPTER11 Scandal 110 CHAPTER12 The Dying Gasp of the Periphery Doctrine 127 part two. the unipolar era CHAPTER13 The New World Order 139 CHAPTER14 Trading Enemies 157 CHAPTER15 From Cold Peace to Cold War 172 CHAPTER16 With Likud, the Periphery Doctrine Returns 190 CHAPTER17 Khatami’s Détente 202 CHAPTER18 Betrayal in Afghanistan 223 CHAPTER19 Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory 238 CONTENTS ix part three. looking ahead CHAPTER20 Facing the Future, Facing Reality 261 NOTES 285 APPENDIX A: IRAN’S MAY 2003 NEGOTIATION PROPOSAL TO THE UNITED STATES 341 APPENDIX B: ORIGINAL U.S. DRAFT NEGOTIATION PROPOSAL 343 APPENDIX C: LETTER FROM AMBASSADOR GULDIMANN TO THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 345 INDEX 347