Michael Lipin
VOA News, Feb. 16, 2023
“We are looking at a holistic strategy, which encompasses all dimensions of Iranian activities, including in the nuclear field, in the regional field, the cooperation between Iran and Russia, and the internal situation in Iran, which has to be factored into any strategic thinking about this situation.”
Israel’s envoy in the United States has sought to clarify his nation’s red line on Iran’s nuclear program, telling VOA that Israel will prevent its main regional foe from acquiring a capability to become a nuclear-armed state.
Last month in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken the policy of his new government, which took office in December, is to “do everything within Israel’s power to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them.”
Blinken said the U.S. agreed that Iran “must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon,” reiterating a long-standing U.S. position.
Netanyahu did not repeat a 2012 warning that he issued during a previous term as prime minister that Iran must be stopped from reaching a threshold short of assembling a nuclear bomb, namely completing 90% of the process for amassing the required amount of highly enriched uranium or fissile material. Tehran insists its nuclear program is only for civilian use.. …[To read the full article, click here]