Brig.-Gen. (res.) Prof. Jacob Nagel is a visiting professor at the Technion Faculty of Aerospace Engineering and a senior visiting fellow at Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He previously served as the head of Israel’s National Security Council and as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s acting national security advisor. Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism finance analyst at the US Treasury, is senior vice president for research at Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Should that happen, the world’s leading jihadis will be a giant step closer to realizing their dreams. And a rich and powerful despot in Tehran, now in the twilight of his life, will be consoled by the knowledge that his favorite comrade-in-arms did not die in vain.
The United States should avoid additional kinetic conflict with Iran if possible, but Washington must be willing to employ all instruments of national power against Iran if it appears to be approaching breakout. Under the current circumstances, Washington should plan for the worst and work to deter an Iranian nuclear breakout before it starts.
In its November 11 report, the IAEA called on Iran to cooperate with its investigation into the uranium particles found at the Turquzabad site, stating, “It is essential for Iran to continue interactions with the Agency to resolve this matter as soon as possible.” In light of Iran’s misconduct, parties to the JCPOA can now decide whether to invoke the dispute resolution process of the JCPOA to support the full implementation of the CSA and AP.