Revealed: Israel's Plan to Pit the United States Against Arab Nations into Mutual Attack
Tensions in the Middle East have escalated following reports from several countries neighbouring Iran of damage to civilian facilities caused by drone and missile strikes. Saudi Arabia reported explosions at the Ras Tanura oil refinery, whilst Azerbaijan reported damage to Nakhchivan airport. Both nations initially blamed Iran for the attacks.
However, Tehran denied the allegations. According to a Middle East Monitor report, Iran’s government instead accused Israel of orchestrating the attacks through a false flag operation—a covert operation designed to appear as though carried out by another party to provoke conflict.
Such accusations are not unprecedented. The 1954 Lavon Affair exemplifies a notorious historical case wherein Israel’s plan to pit Egypt and the United States against each other was exposed.
The Plot Unravels
The incident began in July 1954 when Alexandria and Cairo were rocked by a series of bomb explosions over several consecutive days. The targets were strategic locations including post offices, railway stations, terminals, and cinemas. Several American facilities were also attacked, including the consulate office and various other buildings.
Although the government reported no deaths, the attacks caused significant chaos. The administration under Gamal Abdel Nasser faced political pressure and a crisis of confidence, as Nasser was deemed to have failed in maintaining security, especially given that facilities belonging to another nation were targeted. This raised doubts in Washington regarding Egypt’s capacity to maintain security stability.
However, a breakthrough came on 27 July 1954 when Egyptian authorities foiled a subsequent bombing plot and arrested a suspect named Philip Nathanson. Following further investigation, Nathanson was revealed to be an Israeli intelligence agent. This arrest exposed a broader intelligence network; Egyptian police ultimately arrested 13 Israeli agents suspected of involvement in the bombing campaign.
As documented in Leonard Weiss’s 2016 essay “The Lavon Affair: How a false-flag operation led to war and the Israeli bomb,” court proceedings revealed that the operation aimed to damage relations between Egypt and the United States. At that time, Nasser maintained a relatively close relationship with US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the two had nearly reached an agreement on military cooperation.
Israel viewed this proximity as dangerous. The Israeli government feared that American weapons would be used by Egypt to attack Israel, given Nasser’s well-known anti-Israel stance.
On this basis, Israel allegedly conducted a covert sabotage operation codenamed Operation Susannah. The objective was to create chaos in Egypt to weaken Nasser’s authority, damage Egyptian-American relations, and provoke potential Western military intervention. The strategy aimed to make Western nations lose confidence in the Egyptian government and suspend economic and military aid.
“If successful and Egypt experienced instability, then the West would think twice about providing further support. Israel’s hope was that Operation Susannah would strengthen Nasser’s enemies and weaken the argument for Western support,” Weiss wrote.
The courts subsequently handed down various sentences, ranging from death penalties to life imprisonment.
In Israel, the scandal triggered a major political crisis as officials blamed one another over who had authorised the covert operation. Defence Minister Pinhas Lavon was implicated as having approved the sabotage, and he subsequently resigned from his position.
As a consequence of this plot, Nasser became enraged. A year later, he nationalised the Suez Canal, prompting a military attack by Israel, Britain, and France in what became known as the Suez Crisis. Decades later, in 1975, an Israeli official acknowledged that the covert operation had indeed occurred. The scandal is now known as the Lavon Affair.