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U.S. Study: World May Have to Live with Nuclear Iran

(Reuters) Iran is determined to acquire nuclear weapons and the U.S. may find it less costly to deter a nuclear-armed Iran than to dismantle its weapons program, according to two U.S.-funded researchers who advise the Pentagon. "Can the United States live with a nuclear-armed Iran? Despite its rhetoric, it may have no choice," concluded the report by Judith Yaphe and Air Force Col. Charles Lutes, released Thursday. The potential for rolling back Iran's program, once it produces a nuclear weapon, "is lower than preventing it in the first place and the costs of rollback may be higher than the costs of deterring and containing a nuclear Iran," they said. The two analysts are senior fellows at the National Defense University's Institute for National Strategic Studies, which does policy research for the Defense Department. The U.S. researchers warned that a U.S. or Israeli pre-emptive military strike likely would rally Iranians around a religious fundamentalist government in Tehran that they might otherwise want to replace, and spur new attacks by Iran-allied groups like Hizballah. The analysts said Tehran was unlikely to use its nuclear capability unless facing an overwhelming threat and while it might become more assertive in the region, superior U.S. capabilities could probably deter significant mischief.
2005-10-14 00:00:00
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