Why Iran May Dash for the Bomb

Excerpt

Among the many challenges facing the incoming Trump administration is an Iran on the edge of nuclear arms. The mullahs have used the Biden years well, filling their coffers and advancing their atomic project. Much has changed in the Middle East since Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel has been more daring in taking on its enemies. But a middling power can do only so much, particularly when constantly badgered by a procession of Democratic Party luminaries.

Among the regional changes is how the mullahs conceive of their war against Israel. The Iranian theocracy now knows that its proxy strategy is flawed, that its conventional ballistic missiles lack accuracy and punch, and that the Jewish state can bomb anything inside Iran, with the possible exception of the clerical regime’s deeply buried uranium-enrichment plants.

Mr. Gerecht, a former CIA Iran-targets officer, is a resident scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Mr. Takeyh is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.