Israel strikes Iran: the reasons behind the decision

Intel claimed Tehran was close to building a bomb

Intel claimed Tehran was close to building a bomb, Operation Rising Lion, A long-expected attack, Israeli intelligence on Iran, Successful experiments, Israel’s Begin doctrine, What is the Begin Doctrine, What Israel believed when it attacked, Netanyahu’s justifications, The nuclear bomb timeline, No real evidence

On June 13th, Israel began an air and special operations campaign against key nuclear, air defense, and military targets that kicked off a conflict currently threatening the stability of the Middle East. It was a bold strike, but why was it ordered?

Operation Rising Lion

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The opening moves of Operation Rising Lion reportedly crippled Iranian air defense and took out several high-ranking military personnel and nuclear scientists in what many are saying was Israel’s attempt to knock out Iran’s nuclear program. 

A long-expected attack

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Security experts and war analysts have long suggested that Israel would strike at Iran if the Iranians ever came close to acquiring a nuclear weapon, and this might be the reason for Israel’s attack according to a report from The Times of Israel. 

Israeli intelligence on Iran

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According to The Times of Israel, unnamed security sources claimed Israeli intelligence officials presented a report to Israel’s political leadership before the attack that showed Iran had conducted critical experiments in the design process of its nuclear weapon. 

Successful experiments

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The successful experiments reportedly put Iran just weeks away from building a nuclear weapon if its leadership chose to do so. As a result of this report, Israeli leadership decided to attack Iran. This justification was later made publicly by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Israel’s Begin doctrine

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The Jerusalem Post reported Israel has long adhered to something known as the Begin Doctrine, a common reference to a policy allegedly created by Israel after its air strikes on Iraq’s nuclear reactor in Osirak in 1981, which was a strike meant to prevent Iraq from obtaining a nuclear weapon, 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Joyce Battle and William Burr, CC BY-SA 4.0

What is the Begin Doctrine

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The Jerusalem Post noted that under the Begin Doctrine, “Israel commits to preventing any enemy state that seeks its destruction from obtaining nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction."

What Israel believed when it attacked

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Whether or not Iran was close to being able to develop a nuclear weapon is unknown, but Israeli intelligence suggested that its monitoring of Iran left Jerusalem with no doubt that Tehran had decided to build a nuclear weapon after the October 7th attacks. 

Netanyahu’s justifications

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the operation against Iran was necessary to "roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival" according to a quote published by BBC News. He claimed Iran was close to developing a nuclear weapon. 

The nuclear bomb timeline

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"It could be a year. It could be within a few months," Netanyahu warned. However, that may have not been the case according to the Director of non-proliferation policy at the US-based Arms Control Association, Kelsey Davenport. 

No real evidence

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Davenport told BBC News Netanyahu "did not present any clear or compelling evidence that Iran was on the brink of weaponizing". She also stated that the Iranians have "been at a near-zero breakout for months” and that “the assessment that Iran could develop a crude nuclear weapon within a few months is not new."

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