Weakened Iran Raises Fears It May Make Push for Nuclear Arms
- Tehran may decide nuclear weapons are now best form of defense
- Decision may depend on how Israel responds to missile attack
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Iran has rarely looked more on the back foot after weeks of Israeli attacks that degraded its proxies Hezbollah and Hamas. And Tehran’s barrage of some 200 missiles fired at Israel on Tuesday was judged “ineffective” by the US.
But those setbacks may have an unintended and dangerous consequence, according to current and former government officials in the US, Israel and the Arab world. They fear that Iran, backed into a corner and feeling more threatened, may speed up its nuclear advances and pursue atomic weapons.