Abstract
Until now the Islamic Republic of Iran’s adoption of an independent active deterrence strategy, a strategy based on threat assessment and self-assessment, has overall been a success. The sole exception involved Iraq in 1980 and was due to Iran’s initial vulnerability following the revolution. As Saudi Arabia maneuvers with influence from US President Donald Trump, and given that Iran is unlikely to withdraw its military nuclear program under the existing security environment, the US and Israel ought to strengthen their nuclear deterrence capabilities against Iran. They need to issue clear, open, official retaliation commitments under a hypothetical nuclear scenario and bolster them with corresponding military and diplomatic capability.
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