Israel's cyber attack of April 11,2021, on the electrical grid supporting the Iranian Natanz nuclear centrifuge facility was clearly the gentlest of warnings Jerusalem could send to Tehran. The attack would have done little or nothing to impact Iran's nuclear weapons development, but it was an indication from Israel that Iran's growing, discreet rapprochement with the US Joe Biden Administration would not be without unexpected interference. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel on April 11, 2021, as the cyber message was being delivered to Tehran, pointedly placing the Biden Administration in an awkward situation. There was little doubt but that Israel's new warning to Tehran was delivered with the support of its new "teaming partners" in the Sunni Arab world: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, in particular. Israel has begun the process of warning Washington, as well as Tehran, that it was time to take sides. Arguably, it was sending a similar message to Beijing, although the People's Republic of China was still attempting to build a relationship with Saudi Arabia and the UAE without damaging its vital link with Iran.
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