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Home / US-Israel-Iran / Why Iran Resists Giving Up Its Nuclear Program, Even As Trump Threatens Strikes
US‑Israel‑Iran, Iran, Middle East

February 28, 2026

Why Iran Resists Giving Up Its Nuclear Program, Even As Trump Threatens Strikes

Other U.S. demands would represent reddish lines. Its rocket arsenal, for example, counts arsenic its main antagonistic to the U.S. and Israel, said Rose Kelanic, Director of the Middle East Program astatine the Defense Priorities deliberation tank.

“Iran’s deterrence argumentation is defense by attrition. They enactment for illustration a porcupine truthful the carnivore will driblet them… The missiles are the quills,” she said, adding that the strategy intends Iran cannot afloat take sides against the U.S., but could inflict pain.

“Trump has worked very difficult to make U.S. threats reliable by amassing this immense subject unit offshore, and they’re highly reliable astatine this point,” Kelanic said.

Read at Beritaja

Featuring

Rosemary
Kelanic

Director, Middle East Program

Defense Priorities

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