Nuclear fears explode as Israel’s war on Hezbollah ‘may push Iran into atomic arms race’

Iran may feel it has no choice now but to go all out and develop a nuclear bomb to deter Israel from future attacks against the Islamic Republic, according to a commentator.
The last few weeks have seen Israel broaden its military campaign to land devastating blows against the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militia, a key ally of Iran in the region that’s been designated a terrorist organisation in the UK, US and other Western nations.
Israeli attacks continue in Lebanon, as Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to press home his advantage and downgrade the threat posed by the Shia militants.
Iran has long viewed Hezbollah as a chief insurance policy against an Israeli attack on its nuclear programme.
If Israel attacked, then Hezbollah would retaliate on Tehran’s behalf, using its arsenal of 150,000 Iranian-supplied rockets.
However, with Hezbollah now on the ropes after seeing its senior leadership almost entirely wiped out – including its political supremo Hassan Nasrallah – Iran may conclude it can no longer rely on its ally as a deterrence.
In a column for the Telegraph, Adam Blomfield explained: “Iran may feel that, given it is no longer able to rely on Hezbollah as a nuclear insurance policy, it has no choice but to race for the bomb.”
Such a move may in turn prompt an Israeli attack on Iran – something that would tip the whole region into all-out war, an expert believes.
Mr Blomfield continued: “Iran has steadily increased its uranium enrichment programme over the years and is now sitting close to breakout capacity.
“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, may calculate that the only way to deter Israel is to drop all pretence and build a nuclear weapon.
“If Israel calculates that this is Iran’s most likely policy, it is unlikely that any Western pressure will hold it back from a response that would tip the Middle East into the all-out war that everyone has feared.”
Iran’s Supreme leader is coming under intense pressure from hardliners to fulfil its nuclear ambitions.
Dominated by supporters of ultra-hardliner figures such as former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, there’s been a growing chorus on social media for Iran to adopt a more aggressive stance.
Sohrab Salehi, a university professor, wrote on X: “Iran burned its cards in the past.
“Now the only available card is Atom Bomb. This is the only way to bring the West to negotiations.”
Iran is already in a position to enrich enough uranium for five nuclear weapons within about one week, according to Iran Watch.
However, the “weaponisation activities” could still take anywhere from several months to a year.