Final_Judgment

352 The Heir To the Thone [291]
nation, and Israel might be perceived to be hostile to one another, this was
not the case at all.
ISRAEL AND IRAN
In 1958 Israeli Prime Minister Ben-Gurion proposed to American
President Dwight D. Eisenhower a united front against Egyptian leader
Gamal Abdel Nasser. According to Ben-Gurion, "With the purpose of
erecting a high dam against the Nasserist-Soviet tidal wave, we have begun
tightening our links with several states on the outside perimeter of the
Middle East. Our goal is to organize a group of countries, not necessarily an
official alliance, that will be able to stand strong against Soviet expansion
by proxy through Nasser." 771
Iran was one of those countries that Ben-Gurion proposed be part of this new
alliance. Ben-Gurion had it in mind that Iran could be utilized to keep the
Arab countries of Iraq and Syria under control. 772
In fact, Israel had been actively engaged in attempting to interfere in Iran's
domestic affairs for some time. According to Andrew and Leslie Cockburn,
writing in Dangerous Liaison: The Inside Story of the U.S.- Israeli Covert
Relationship, "Israeli agents had been at work encouraging friendly forces in
Iran since the early days of the state." 773
The results paid off: in June 1950, for example, Iran had given Israel 'de
facto' diplomatic recognition—(a designation just short of full diplomatic
recognition).
Although, according to the Cockburns, the relationship between Iran
and Israel was uneasy and involved much international intrigue "the
connection between the Shah's Iran and Israel rested on firm foundations.
The two countries shared a strong suspicion and dislike of the Arab nations
on their borders. Both had strong connections to the United States, in
particular the CIA." 774
IRAN AND THE ISRAELI LOBBY
Additionally, note the Cockburns, "Each [country] had something to offer
that the other needed. In Iran's case it was oil, which it began to ship to
Israel in 1954. Israel, for its part, could offer valuable expertise in the
fields of intelligence, and domestic security. In the eyes of the Shah, Israel
had something even more valuable to bestow on its friends: the pervasive
influence of the Jews in the United States and indeed the world over.
"[Israeli official] David Kimche recalls with amusement how 'if there'd
be any anti-Iranian article in any newspaper in the United States or even in
Europe, the Shah would call us and say, 'Why did you allow this to
happen?' We would in vain plead innocent [reported Kimche] 'saying that
we don't control the whole of world media [and] we don't control the banks
as some people think we do.'