Exposed transcripts: Bush warned Putin of an Israeli attack on Iran

Bush warned that if Sharon felt he had to attack Iran, “all hell would break loose”, and made it clear that the most likely military response to the nuclear threat would come from Israel. Putin shared with Bush the change in his perception of Israel. “When I first visited Israel, it was a revelation for me,” Putin said.

“I was told it was a hostile place, and what I saw was completely different.” He added a humorous comment regarding his support for the country: “If they need me to be circumcised – I can’t do that.”

The transcripts, documenting meetings and phone calls held between 2001 and 2008, were released by the National Security Archive following a lawsuit against the National Archives of the United States (NARA).

The documents reveal the complex development of the relationship between Bush and Putin. At the beginning, in 2001, there was a close alliance between the two based on a common fight against terrorism, so much so that Bush told Putin: “You are the kind of person I like to have with me in the trenches.”

However, towards the end of Bush’s term, mistrust between the parties increased, especially around the issue of NATO expansion and the placement of missile defense systems in Europe.

He warned that Ukraine’s joining NATO would be a direct threat to Russia’s security and could lead to the dissolution of the Ukrainian state. On the issue of the Iranian nuclear issue, Bush described the leadership in Tehran as “a bunch of crazy clerics”, and expressed concern about the inability to anticipate their moves.

Putin, for his part, claimed that despite the extreme ideology, the Iranian leaders are intellectual and educated. He revealed that Russia had detected attempts by Iranian experts to secretly obtain sensitive nuclear knowledge, and promised that those involved would be punished.

In addition, the subject of China’s rise came up in the talks, with Bush defining it as the biggest long-term problem for both superpowers. The transcripts provide a rare glimpse into the personal dynamics between the leaders, which include discussions on North Korea, the war in Iraq and the issue of press freedom in Russia.