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Source: Getty

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.

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By Karim Sadjadpour
Published on Feb 8, 2012
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The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

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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.

Karim Sadjadpour
Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Karim Sadjadpour
SecurityPolitical ReformNuclear PolicyMiddle EastIranGulfLevant

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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