(Jerusalem Post) Emily B. Landau - Iran refuses to acknowledge that it actually did work on a military nuclear program in the past and it never demonstrated that it left those ambitions behind. During the past year and a half the Obama administration refrained from any pushback against Iran's repeated provocations, belligerence and even some violations of the nuclear deal itself, which has only served to embolden Iran. In response to Iranian ballistic missile tests, U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn (who has since resigned) issued a statement that "put Iran on notice" while informing the Iranians that the U.S. will no longer turn a blind eye to their provocations. Putting Iran on notice puts Tehran off balance - a desired result. From initial Iranian reactions, it seems that the deterrence is working: Iranian media have reflected advice to Iran's leaders not to do anything that might give Trump an excuse to attack. Dr. Emily B. Landau is director of the Arms Control and Regional Security Program at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
2017-03-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive