“Therefore, for the sake of our diplomatic effort to resolve this crisis, we believe it is vital to restore Iran’s fear that its current nuclear path will trigger the use of force against it by the United States,” the letter signed by Leon Panetta and David Petraeus read.
Al Arabiya English reports now that Two former CIA directors and a handful of former senior US officials urged President Joe Biden to “restore Iran’s fear that its current nuclear path will trigger the use of force,” in a letter published Friday.
“Diplomacy appears to be moving backward,” the letter read on the same day that European capitals voiced frustration with Tehran’s request to adjourn talks on the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal.
“Therefore, for the sake of our diplomatic effort to resolve this crisis, we believe it is vital to restore Iran’s fear that its current nuclear path will trigger the use of force against it by the United States,” the letter signed by Leon Panetta and David Petraeus read.
Panetta was the former defense secretary and former CIA director while Petraeus was the former chief of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) and a former CIA director.
Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy, a top official in the Obama administration, also endorsed the letter as did former Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Howard Berman.
“In that context, we believe it is important for the Biden administration to take steps that lead Iran to believe that persisting in its current behavior and rejecting a reasonable diplomatic resolution will put to risk its entire nuclear infrastructure, one built painstakingly over the last three decades,” the former US officials said.
Steps could include military exercises by the US military, along with its allies, “including rehearsing air-to-ground attacks on hardened targets and the suppression of Iranian missile batteries.”
The group of former officials also called for providing US allies with “enhanced defensive capabilities” to counter retaliatory strikes by Iran.
“Without convincing Iran it will suffer severe consequences if it stays on its current path, there is little reason to hope for the success of diplomacy,” they said.