Failing to stop Iran’s nuclear drive will be seen as a grave blow to the West in its battle with Islamism, an Israeli expert warns.
An atomic bomb will mark a “great victory” for Iran and radical Islam as they overcome Israeli and US resistance, Mideast specialist Benny Morris wrote in Haaretz daily. The exit from Afghanistan is already viewed as a “giant defeat” for the West, which will face even greater danger if Iran goes nuclear, he wrote.
Last week, the US military chief warned that Al-Qaeda or the ISIS offshoot in Afghanistan could rebuild and pose a terror threat to America within 12 to 36 months.
Iranian nuclear success will further motivate and inspire the radical Islamic camp, Morris said. Islamists around the world will be encouraged to target US allies in the Middle East, he predicted.
US reluctant to strike
However, the US is unwilling to take military steps against Iran despite the dangers posed by an Iranian bomb, Israeli observers say. Moreover, America refuses to fully upgrade Israel’s military power, a veteran journalist reported.
The US will not supply the IDF with munitions and advanced technology for a devastating assault on Iran, military analyst Ron Ben-Yishai said. Israel is now in a race to build robust strike capabilities to cripple Tehran’s nuke project, he wrote.
Top US officials believe that an Israeli strike will trigger Iranian retaliation against American targets in the Gulf, the article said. The Americans prefer to limit the IDF’s capacity for an independent long-distance strike, according to Ben-Yishai.
Moreover, the US itself may not have a military plan at this time to delay Iran’s nuclear progress, ex-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak wrote in Yediot Aharonot daily. The former PM warned in a recent article that Tehran’s nuclear program likely passed the point of no return.
However, Israel continues to advance its own military plans to attack Iran’s nuclear sites. Analyst Ben-Yishai estimated that the IDF will develop an effective strike option in the “not-too-distant future.”
