Again, Seeking War with Iran

Paul R. Pillar
Consortium News

Modest but real progress appears to have been made at the latest round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, but that didn’t stop congressional war hawks in thrall to the Israel Lobby from seeking more sanctions and proposing a green light for an Israeli attack on Iran.

The biggest set of obstacles to achieving an agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear program involves each side’s inclination to believe the worst regarding the other side’s intentions. A major body of opinion in the United States holds that Tehran is hell-bent on acquiring nuclear weapons and that any indications to the contrary — including the Iranian denials of an intention to build a nuclear weapons, the fatwas by the supreme leader saying that such weapons are un-Islamic, the continued adherence to the nonproliferation treaty, the acceptance of international inspectors, and the Iranians’ restraint in accumulating any stockpile of medium enriched uranium — constitute posturing, lying or stalling. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, a leading congressional neoconservative who co-sponsored a resolution that would give a green light for Israel to attack Iran. A corresponding body of opinion in Iran, which may include the supreme leader, believes that the United States is determined to achieve regime change and intends to squeeze and punish Iran until such change is indeed achieved.

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