The Challenge of Iran in 2023
zlotx5
Tue, 03/07/2023 – 05:00
By any measure, 2022 was an extraordinary year for Iranian aggression. As 2023 opens, the imperative to demonstrate Western intent to constrain Iran has never been greater. Failure to do so risks lives but also dooms future diplomatic initiatives. A credible threat of military action, however, will not only set red lines that will constrain Iranian behavior but likely will provoke a debate within Iran’s ruling elite as to the wisdom of aggression that might invite a response that could destabilize, or even threaten, the regime as it passes through its most consequential leadership transition. This transition will likely cement the arrival of a new generation of hardline officials. In contrast, a genuine debate within Iran – especially following years of persistent unrest by a disillusioned population – offers the best chance of empowering more pragmatic and less violent voices.
Iran’s actions in 2022 represented a new level of its violations of international laws and practices. The nuclear talks gradually collapsed while Iran expanded its use of advanced centrifuges and establishment of underground nuclear facilities, its stockpile of uranium enriched far beyond Tehran’s requirements and rebuffed inspections by the …read more
Source:: Hoover Institution