Hillary Clinton says Tehran is provoking U.S. for attack

To attack or not to attack Iran has become a difficult choice for the United States and Israel. Both the countries have been looking into different pros and cons of an attack since the United States and European Union slapped economic sanctions on Iran for not suspending enrichment of uranium and making efforts to assure the world powers that the country’s nuclear program is for peaceful purpose.

United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recently said during an interview that there are people in Iran who are provoking the United States and Israel for an attack on the country. She said the hardliners in Iran believe that if the country comes under attack the leadership will be able to unify the people behind it and legitimize the regime. She also claimed during the interview that the Iranian leadership has been mulling the option for the last couple of months.

She elaborated that one thing behind the provocation by Iran could be the desire of Iranian hardliners to strengthen their grip on the power. Due to the sanctions and oil embargo on Iran, the economy of the country has been crippled. There have been reports of Iran finding smugglers to sell the country’s petroleum products in the black market. Around 75 percent the Iranian economy depends on the export of petroleum products and since sanctions the export has almost reduced to 60 percent, raising questions on the eligibility of the Iranian leadership.

The United States and other western powers suspect that Iran has been covertly pursuing nuclear weapons for a long time. They believe that if Iran succeeds in achieving nuclear power, it would kick start an arms race in the region. Also, nuclear Iran would destabilize the whole region and security of Israel would be at stake. Hillary Clinton said during the interview that she believes if Iran goes nuclear, it would easily resort to proliferation. The United States suspects Iran may export the technology to other Muslim countries as well, putting peace of the whole world at stake.

Israel has long been prodding the United States for a military solution for Iran’s controversial nuclear program. However, the US has been exercising restraint owing to certain reasons and believes in resolving the crisis through dialogue and diplomatic means. If Iran continues to stick with its guns, the US also will be left with no other option but to heed Israel that wants to attack nuclear facilities of Iran to destroy them.