The United States may be forced to attack Iran “soon” if the United States fails to quickly achieve results in negotiations to suspend Tehran’s nuclear program, former US Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Richard Nephew wrote in an article for Foreign Affairs magazine.
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“Given the risks associated with military action, the United States should make one last attempt in good faith to negotiate a halt to Tehran’s nuclear program early in the Trump administration. But unless it is prepared to live in a world in which Iran If there are nuclear weapons, they may have no choice but to attack Iran – and soon,” Nephew said.
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According to the ex-official, the United States has many reasons to try to resolve the problem diplomatically, since, according to him, American officials are not confident in the successful outcome of a possible armed attack on Iran. In addition, Nephew believes that an attack on Iran by a nuclear power could only push Tehran to create nuclear weapons, and a full-fledged military campaign against Tehran could be burdensome for the United States.
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Nephew, however, believes that attacks on facilities associated with the Iranian nuclear program could roll back its development, as a result of which Tehran may be hesitant to rebuild it. At the same time, he recognizes that Iran’s nuclear weapons will not create an existential threat to the United States, but it could create threats to American partners in the Middle East, as well as prompt other countries in the region to participate in an arms race, which could be fraught with nuclear war.
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Earlier, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for International Affairs Kazem Gharib-Abadi said that a new round of consultations between Iran and three European countries on concluding a nuclear deal will take place on January 13.
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Negotiations on the nuclear program between Iran and the Eurotroika – Great Britain, France and Germany – took place on November 29 in Geneva after a two-year break. Assistant to the Iranian Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht-Ravanchi led the Iranian delegation at the negotiations.
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According to the Iranian government, they will continue in the near future. A week earlier, the anti-Iranian resolution of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), initiated by Great Britain, Germany, France and the United States, was adopted without taking into account the results of the business trip of the agency’s director general Rafael Grossi to Iran.
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Grossi visited Iran back on November 14-15. The purpose of his visit was negotiations with the country’s leadership and inspection of the Iranian nuclear program facilities in Fordo and Netenz for a subsequent decision on the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian Nuclear Program (JCPOA). Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, during negotiations with Grossi, said that Tehran has not created and will not create nuclear weapons.
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In 2015, the UK, Germany, China, Russia, the US, France and Iran entered into a nuclear deal that included lifting sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program. Under the Trump presidency, the United States withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and restored sanctions against Tehran. In response, Iran announced a gradual reduction in its obligations under the agreement, abandoning, in particular, restrictions on nuclear research and the level of uranium enrichment.
