Opinion: Iran is months from the bomb – stopping it may not be easy

Following Iran’s Tuesday-night attack on Israel – which saw the Islamic Republic launch nearly 200 missiles at Israeli territory – the question is not whether Israel will retaliate but how. Calls to militarily target the Iranian nuclear programme are neither new nor surprising. But while strikes may be able to roll back parts of the nuclear programme in the short term, they could ultimately exacerbate the threat and limit options to deal with it in future.