Professor John Mearsheimer, a renowned American political scientist, has predicted that Israel may use nuclear weapons against Iran as a last resort to decimate Tehran’s nuclear development.
The Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago delivered the keynote address on Friday at the Arab Center’s Eleventh Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.
Noting that Israel considers Iran an existential threat, the expert warned: “Israel will use nuclear weapons against Iran if they suspect Iran is pursuing a nuclear deterrent.”
“It is now clear that Israel cannot prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons using its conventional forces,” he said. “The United States will not stop that (nuclear use) from happening.”
Mearsheimer condemned Israel’s multifaceted operations in the Middle East, accusing it of using its military might to suppress people in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
He insists Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad Director, David Barnea played a key role in convincing President Donald Trump that a “quick and decisive victory” was possible in Iran.
The international relations scholar decried the recent depletion of U.S. munitions and bases, as well as the diversion of assets to the Middle East when the focus should be on China and Asia.
He argued that Iran holds “almost all the cards” and is in a very powerful spot, saying by cutting off the Strait of Hormuz, “they are in a position to tank the global economy.”
Highlighting other consequences of the war, Mearsheimer said Tehran can “destroy GCC countries as functioning societies” through further attacks on energy infrastructure and desalination plants.
He also observed people focus on the Hormuz blockade’s impact on oil, but don’t talk about fertilizer shortages, which would affect the planting season and could cause many people to starve to death.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Erdogan on Friday continued his strong criticism of Israel, saying 254 Lebanese people were “brutally killed” on the day the ceasefire was declared.
Erdogan said “the genocidal network” is blinded by blood and hatred and continues to unalive children, women, and civilians, disregarding human values and recognizing no rules or principles.
On the controversial death penalty law passed by the Knesset, the President likened the targeting of Palestinians to apartheid. “Isn’t it using the law as a tool of racist authoritarianism?” he quipped.
