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Source: https://jcpa.org/the-war-with-iran-who-won-and-who-lost/
Israeli-U.S. Attacks Significantly Disrupted Iran's Nuclear Program
(Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs) Yoni Ben Menachem - Most commentators in the Arab world acknowledge that Israel has secured unprecedented achievements in the war with Iran. According to them, Israel succeeded - thanks to the American strikes on Iran's nuclear sites - in achieving a strategic gain that the IDF could not have attained on its own. The Israeli-U.S. attacks significantly disrupted Iran's nuclear program. Senior security sources claim that Iran's main nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan were destroyed, and 17 top Iranian nuclear scientists were killed. Yet, Iran still has 80 nuclear scientists who survived the war and who constitute a significant reservoir of knowledge regarding the nuclear project. Defense assessments also suggest that Iran retains 1,000 ballistic missiles and 150 launchers. Israel possesses some of the most advanced military and intelligence capabilities in the world, and it has now sent a clear message to every capital in the region: its long arm can reach anywhere. Israel has successfully restored its deterrence power to an unprecedented level. Israel delayed Iran's nuclear program by at least several years. Iran is still capable of beginning to rebuild its nuclear program. Iran does not intend to give up its nuclear project - even if the current regime were to fall. This aspiration is deeply rooted in Iran's national vision and predates the Islamic Revolution. Security officials warn that it is indeed possible Iran transferred some of its enriched material and advanced centrifuges to other underground facilities capable of continuing uranium enrichment. Senior political officials assess that Iran will return to the negotiating table in pursuit of a new nuclear agreement. However, there is no indication that it is willing to relinquish its core principle of enriching uranium on Iranian soil. It is highly likely that Khamenei will now covertly attempt to accelerate nuclear bomb production and resume ballistic missile development. The writer, a veteran Arab affairs and diplomatic commentator for Israel Radio and Television, is a senior Middle East analyst for the Jerusalem Center.