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Source: https://jstribune.com/readers-response-self-defense-nuclear-bomb/
The Right of Self-Defense - A Question of Survival
(Jerusalem Strategic Tribune) Michael Calvo and Aaron Braunstein - Iran's nuclear ambitions are a matter of existential concern not only for Israel. Should Iran build a nuclear device, it could put it on a ship or an airplane and send it to New York City; or configure it for delivery by ballistic or cruise missile to Berlin, Brussels, Paris, or Rome - and ultimately, to the U.S. Iran could also explode a nuclear device at high altitude and produce an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that would cover most of North America or Europe, killing millions and sending America and Europe back to the Stone Age. Key Iranian figures continually threaten "death" to both Israel and America, but the usual international procedures and avenues have proven futile. There seems no reasonable alternative to the use of force - before Iran has nuclear launch capability. After that, it will be too late. All states have an inherent and natural right of self-defense to stop the threat of an attack by another state, as understood in customary international law. The U.S., Israel, Europe, and the Gulf States are entitled to exercise their inherent and natural right of self-defense in order to stop the threat of nuclear obliteration. Dr. Michael A. Calvo, an expert in international law, was a member of the International Court of Arbitration representing Israel. Aaron Braunstein, a veteran U.S. Foreign Service officer (1966-96), is founding president of the Jewish Covenant Alliance that struggles against totalitarian ideologies.