Israeli Defence Minister Resigns, Exposed as the Culprit Behind US-Arab Tensions

The cunning actions of Israel once caused a rift between the United States (US) and Egypt. Israel was caught conducting an intelligence operation to pit the two countries against each other.

This tactic was eventually exposed, leading to the resignation of Israeli Defence Minister Pinhas Lavon, who was proven to be the mastermind behind the intelligence operation.

The story began in 1954. At that time, a series of explosions rocked the cities of Alexandria and Cairo in Egypt. The targets included post offices, train stations, terminals, cinemas, and even US facilities such as consulates and other strategic buildings.

Although there were no casualties, the attacks triggered political chaos and a crisis of confidence in the Egyptian government led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, particularly from Washington.

After a few days, authorities arrested Philip Nathanson, one of the perpetrators, who was later proven to be an Israeli intelligence agent. Further investigation revealed a wider network, with a total of 13 Israeli agents suspected of involvement in the sabotage action known as Operation Susannah.

According to Leonard Weiss in his book The Lavon Affair: How a false-flag operation led to war and the Israeli bomb (2016), the secret operation aimed to damage Egypt-US relations and incite Uncle Sam to attack the Arab country.

For context, at that time, Nasser was known to be close to US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, even nearly reaching an arms agreement. Israel was displeased and worried that US arms could be used by Egypt to attack the Jewish state.

“If successful and Egypt experiences instability, the West will think twice about providing further support. Israel’s hope was that Operation Susannah would strengthen Nasser’s enemies and weaken the arguments for Western support,” wrote Weiss.

Of course, Israel’s dream of having the US turn against and fight Egypt failed completely. As a result, the scandal triggered a political crisis in Israel. Defence Minister Pinhas Lavon was initially said to have approved the operation, then resigned.

In Egypt, Nasser was known to be furious, reaching a peak a year later when he nationalised the Suez Canal, which triggered a military attack by Israel, Britain, and France.

Now, after 72 years, a similar incident is strongly suspected to be repeating in the Iran War. Citing a report from Middle East Monitor, the Iranian government accuses Israel of being behind attacks targeting civilian facilities in neighbouring countries, such as Saudi Arabian oil refineries and airports in Azerbaijan. This is because Tehran has never launched attacks there.

The Iranian government revealed that Israel is playing out a false flag operation scenario or a secret operation designed to appear as if carried out by another party, with the aim of provoking conflict.