Iran, not Israel, faces an existential threat, according to a top US analyst who is considered one of the world’s leading scholars on the Iranian nuclear issue.
In a research paper published earlier this week, Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said that in preparation for a nuclear Iran, Israel had been working in recent years to extend the range of its missiles, and that it now poses a real threat to all of the Islamic Republic’s major population centers.
Cordesman, a former national security aide to Senator John McCain, said Iran is now within the range of Israeli missiles carrying hydrogen warheads, which are far more powerful than standard atomic warheads. According to the report, each bomb with a hydrogen warhead has about a hundred times more power than a conventional nuclear bomb.
Israel has never admitted to having hydrogen warheads, much like it has never admitted to holding any nuclear weapons.
According to Cordesman’s report, Iran will not have the ability to threaten Israel with a long-range nuclear warhead for several years. Today, the Islamic Republic can attack Israel with small bombs from the sea, or with long-range non-nuclear missiles, he noted.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only and has no military component, a claim that Israel and Western powers reject.
In a research paper published earlier this week, Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said that in preparation for a nuclear Iran, Israel had been working in recent years to extend the range of its missiles, and that it now poses a real threat to all of the Islamic Republic’s major population centers.
Cordesman, a former national security aide to Senator John McCain, said Iran is now within the range of Israeli missiles carrying hydrogen warheads, which are far more powerful than standard atomic warheads. According to the report, each bomb with a hydrogen warhead has about a hundred times more power than a conventional nuclear bomb.
Israel has never admitted to having hydrogen warheads, much like it has never admitted to holding any nuclear weapons.
According to Cordesman’s report, Iran will not have the ability to threaten Israel with a long-range nuclear warhead for several years. Today, the Islamic Republic can attack Israel with small bombs from the sea, or with long-range non-nuclear missiles, he noted.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only and has no military component, a claim that Israel and Western powers reject.
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