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Abstract

This paper assesses the likelihood that Iran’s nuclear program poses a threat to American foreign-policy interests and the extent to which the American response has succeeded in reducing this threat. The researcher conducted this assessment using publicly available data from governmental or intergovernmental agencies such as the IAEA and the CIA, think tanks such as the Brookings Institute, and contemporary press reports. The findings indicate that Iran’s nuclear program has some military aspects, which might pose a threat to American security interests either by emboldening the Iranian leadership to engage in brinksmanship or by increasing the Israeli perception of Iran as a threat. This threat appears to be exacerbated by the failure of most American responses to reduce the threat from the nuclear program, with the partial exceptions of the sanctions regimes and cyberwarfare tactics applied to Iran.

DOI

10.5642/lux.201303.11

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