President Donald Trump has made it clear that his position on Iran remains the same that it has been for years: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Trump also rejected some intelligence reports saying Iran does not yet have the capability to produce a nuclear weapon, saying they're "wrong" and that Iran has what it needs to make a nuke right now.
The big question looming now is how to prevent a nuclear Iran. Israel has damaged several Iranian nuclear sites in its recent strikes, but more remain buried underground. Some national security experts are calling for a more intense containment strategy, using Space Force detection systems and missile interceptors. But Edward Turzanski, national security analyst with the Foreign Policy Research Institute, says it's too late for that. "We need to stop thinking in cold war terms like deterrence and containment," he tells KTRH. "It hasn't worked, and it won't work."
Turzanski warns that a nuclear Iran would bully the world and cause new divisions among the U.S. and its allies. "When Iran has a nuclear weapon, a lot of people who trusted in us and quietly cooperated will start cutting their own deal," he says. "Because they will see that we were not good on our word to stop this from happening."
Trump is reportedly considering the use of so-called "bunker buster" bombs that can penetrate deep underground to destroy nuclear sites. Whatever Trump decides to do, Turzanski cautions that any action must be decisive and effective. "The great fear is we go through all of this, and in the end the Iranians still retain enough capacity that in a few months, a year, or a year-and-a-half, we're right back here in the same place," he says.
Photo: AFP