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In reply to the discussion: Iran vows to hit any country that stages attack [View all]leveymg
(36,418 posts)Note I said retaliatory strikes, not preemptive - the latter would extremely counter-productive politically and militarily.
Pentagon has repeated said that unless we occupy Iran for a long period (something the US cannot do, as a practical matter), it is likely that a US or combined strike will not knock out Iran's nuclear program, and just make it more likely that they will eventually retaliate against us, possibly with nuclear weapons that can be purchased from other sources.
If we were to actually bomb Iran, we would do so over a many month period using every conventional ordinance in our inventory, during which Iran and its allies would be throwing everything they have against us and any third countries involved in the operation. It makes no sense once bombing starts for Iran to not carry out retaliatory attacks against US bases and other targets in the region and globally.
So, no, from a military and political perspective, it doesn't make sense for Iran to renounce its program. They see it as essential to their longterm national survival and strategic interests. Same with us, same with Israel, China, Russia, India, Pakistan, etc. We're already in a situation of de facto mutual deterrence, and that can not be safely upset by threat of conventional military attack.