It is up to John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, to have clearly placed the military implications of the attacks between Israel and Iran. According to him, the Israeli government must take advantage of the pretext of Iran’s attack on Israel to destroy Iranian nuclear weapons manufacturing facilities.
For him, whether or not Israel started the conflict by attacking the Iranian embassy in Syria or whether the conflict dates back to the Hamas attacks on October 7 or whether the origin of the war lies in the Israeli occupations of Palestinian lands or even the Balfour Declaration of 1917, is of no importance.
In the eyes of Bolton, and undoubtedly of several military personnel, the question is whether or not one of the next missiles that Iran will launch against Israel will be equipped with nuclear warheads.
Biden Limited Alliance
The Iranian government has warned that any retaliation from Israel would result in a “heavier and regrettable” response.
For his part, Joe Biden said that if Israel attacked Iran, it would do so without the United States.
The alliance between the United States and Israel thus takes the form of a defensive alliance in the strict sense of the term. That is to say, this defense does not include so-called preventive attacks against the installations of enemy countries.
It should be noted that Iran’s massive attacks were practically all intercepted not only by the Israeli army, but also by the aircraft of the American, English and French armies based in the region. A success and a cooperation which can reassure in the short term.
Whether or not to destroy nuclear installations
Nevertheless, Bolton is right to highlight the nuclear issue. Because there is a precedent when a totalitarian country acquires nuclear weapons. This is North Korea.
Would George W. Bush have done better to attack North Korean nuclear facilities in 2006, at the time of the first North Korean nuclear test? Maybe.
However, it is far from certain that Iran’s nuclear facilities are easily accessible. It’s probably even the opposite.
Should we resign ourselves to a balance of nuclear terror in the region or risk a full war with Iran and possibly a nuclear war?
For Joe Biden, in the current context, peace is better than war. He is right.
It is illusory to believe that the large States of the Near and Middle East will not one day end up acquiring atomic weapons. After all, this is old technology that dates back almost 80 years.
The Iranian government has also made it clear that it does not wish to go further and the damage it has inflicted on Israel is minor.
Unfortunately, Benjamin Netanyahu does not seem willing to stop the escalation and has been trying for years to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities. Could he do it without American support? It’s possible. However, the risks of such an attack are extremely high. Too much.