A new report by a highly respected U.S. think tank indicates time is running out for the West to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons. In fact, “Iran is likely to obtain a nuclear weapon within a year as it already has access to enough fissionable material to manufacture 50 warheads, “concludes a report by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The report urges the new U.S. administration to “strengthen its policies to prevent, mitigate or counteract cascading instability resulting from Iranian nuclear progress.” But the report warns that “time is short.” If the Obama administration does not act decisively, the authors warn that “Israel may decide to act unilaterally” and that Israeli leaders seem convinced that they have a military option. “However, Israelis see the option fading over the next one to two years, not only because of its Iran’s nuclear progress and dispersion of its program but also because of improved Iranian air defenses, especially the expected delivery of the S-300 surface-to-air missile system from Russia.”
HEADLINES TO TRACK:
- Jerusalem Post: ‘Israel is mulling Iran military action’
- Haaretz: Iran is likely to obtain a nuclear weapon within a year as it already has access to enough fissionable material to manufacture 50 warheads, according to a report commissioned by a key U.S. think-tank.
- Wall Street Journal: Obama’s Iran Crisis: It’s arriving faster than he thinks.
- Washington Institute For Near East Policy: Preventing a Cascade of Instability (must read report on how dangerous the Iran nuclear crisis has become)
- AP: Saudi minister says Arabs should stand up to Iran
- Russian scholar says US will collapse next year
- Report: significant rise in anti-Semitic attacks in Europe since Gaza offensive and economic crisis
- Daily Telegraph: Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez tightens state control of food amid rocketing inflation and food shortages
- UPI: Drought grips Afghanistan — “Afghanistan is experiencing its worst drought in a decade and its food crisis is deepening as a result, experts said. The relief agency Oxfam said that as a result of the water shortage, 5 million Afghans would face severe food shortages.”