 The world’s leading powers held another round of talks with Iran in Geneva last weekend, hoping to reach a deal that would bring at least a temporary halt to Tehran’s dangerous drive for nuclear weapons. The two sides struggled to overcome some key sticking points – including Iran’s demand that the West recognize its right to enrich uranium. Yet eventually, they were able to conclude a ‘first-step’ agreement meant to slow down Iran’s progress toward a nuclear weapons capability until a more long-term deal can be achieved. And this has left Israeli officials pondering what to do now that the United States and other Western allies have signed onto a bad deal that they feel legitimizes Iran’s nuclear program and puts Israel in even greater danger. After all, it has become clear of late that the Obama administration prefers a negotiated settlement even if it leaves Iran on the brink of becoming a nuclear power. The urgent question for Jerusalem is whether the state of Israel can live with that danger hanging over its head? Or is it time to seriously consider military action instead? Is the Israeli military capable of dealing a severe blow to Iran’s nuclear program? And is it worth taking on the risk of Iran’s likely reaction, not to mention the response of an angry world? The Geneva Deal and the Military Option – That’s our main focus this week here on Front Page Jerusalem. We’ll continue our recent coverage of the Iranian nuclear threat with an update on the agreement reached in Geneva last week and an analysis of the current situation by one of Israel’s leading strategic experts, Prof. Efraim Inbar of the BESA Center at Bar-Ilan University. Find out why he thinks Israel has little choice left but to deal with the Iranian threat on its own. |
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Airing the weekend of November 30, 2013 Available on WWW.FRONTPAGEJERUSALEM.COM on Monday, December 2, 2013 |
