Concern Elevates That Israel Will Strike Iran

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In The Media

Concern Elevates That Israel Will Strike Iran

As speculation increases that Iran is inching closer to acquiring nuclear weapons, rhetoric regarding war may just be an effort to strengthen diplomacy.

By Karim Sadjadpour

Published on Feb 8, 2012

Source: NPR's Morning Edition

As speculation that Iran is inching closer to acquiring nuclear weapons increases, talks of Israeli airstrikes continue to ratchet up. Speaking on NPR’s Morning Edition, Carnegie's Karim Sadjadpour asserted that Israel worries that Iran is moving close to reaching the threshold of a “zone of immunity” where airstrikes would be ineffective at setting the nuclear weapons program back. While the Obama administration worries about Iran actually having a nuclear weapon, Sadjadpour said that “in Israel, the redline is even more stringent. They don’t even want the Iranians to have the capability.” Much of the chatter regarding war may just be an effort to strengthen diplomacy, Sadjadpour added. While the Chinese view the sanctions against Iran as inimical to their energy interests, a war against Iran would affect their energy interests much more dramatically.

This interview was originally aired on NPR's Morning Edition.

About the Author

Karim Sadjadpour

Senior Fellow, Middle East Program

Karim Sadjadpour is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on Iran and U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.

Recent Work

Q&A
What’s Keeping the Iranian Regime in Power—for Now
- Aaron David Miller, Karim Sadjadpour, Robin Wright
Q&A
How Washington and Tehran Are Assessing Their Next Steps
- Aaron David Miller, David Petraeus, Karim Sadjadpour

Security Political Reform Nuclear Policy Middle East Iran Gulf Levant

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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