Israel will launch an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities on its own if the rest of the world does not take action, said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official and senior adviser to three presidents, including George W. Bush.
Citing talks he had in Israel with officials in Israel’s intelligence and defense establishments, Riedel told Newsweek: “I came back from a trip to Israel in November convinced that Israel would attack Iran.
“Israel is not going to allow its nuclear monopoly to be threatened.”
Ironically, Riedel said the release of the National Intelligence Estimate report, which asserted that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, made an Israeli attack even more likely, because it could make other nations reluctant to impose stricter sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
“In the international scene, Russia’s decision to renew fuel shipments to Iran’s main nuclear facility at Bushehr was interpreted by many analysts as stemming directly from the NIE’s publication,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
“Another development possibly stemming from the report is Russia and China’s hardened position on further sanctions against Tehran.
Some American experts are skeptical of Israel’s ability to tackle Iran alone. But David Alright of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington told Newsweek that Israel’s air strike on an alleged Syrian nuclear facility in September could be seen as a test run for a future attack on Iran’s facilities — as well as a warning to Tehran.
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