WASHINGTON

- A former special adviser on Iran policy to the Obama Administration said that a US-perpetrated strike on the Islamic Republic on is the "least bad" option in dealing with its nuclear threat.

"The truth is that a military strike intended to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, if managed carefully, could spare the region and the world a very real threat and dramatically improve the long-term national security of the United States," Matthew Kroenig, a nuclear security expert at the Council on Foreign Relations who served as a strategist under Defense Secretary Robert Gates, said in an article published by Foreign Affairs Magazine.

Related articles:

Kroenig acknowledged that a military operation in Iran is not an "attractive prospect," but explained that it is within the US' power to minimize the anticipated effects.

Iranian nuclear plant (Photo: EPA)

'Israeli strike likely to fail'

The former strategist posited that if the US attacks, it could also prevent Israel from perpetrating a strike that is destined to fail.

"Given Israel's limited capability to mitigate a potential battle and inflict lasting damage," Kroenig said, an Israeli strike "would likely result in far more devastating consequences and carry a far lower probability of success than a US attack."

Kroenig warned that waging a cold war against Tehran, aimed at containing its nuclear capabilities, is "a costly, decades-long proposition that would likely still result in grave national security threats."

While recognizing the US' reluctance to enter yet another military conflict, Kroenig claimed that a speedy nuclear development in Iran will eventually force it to choose between a conventional confrontation and a nuclear one.

"The United States should conduct a surgical strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, absorb an inevitable round of retaliation, and then seek to quickly de-escalate the crisis," he concluded. "Addressing the threat now will spare the United States from confronting a far more dangerous situation in the future.”

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter

