The U.S. air strikes likely failed to catch Iran completely by surprise, according to Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He argues that Iran probably received advance warning and took crucial steps to protect its most critical nuclear assets long before the attack.
Parsi told Al Jazeera that Iranian leaders likely saw through the Trump administration’s public timeline, viewing it as a tactic to buy time. “I don’t think the Iranians took that seriously,” he said. “They understood that he was trying to buy time while moving military assets in order to actually strike.” Consequently, Parsi believes Iran moved its valuable assets some time ago, although their current location remains unclear.
The core of Iran’s program—its stockpile of enriched uranium—is likely still intact, Parsi noted. “As long as they continue to have that, they still actually have very much a nuclear programme that still could be weaponised,” he explained.
Looking ahead, Parsi predicted that Israel will soon publicly challenge the White House’s claims of a successful mission. He expects Israeli officials to argue that the strikes were insufficient and to begin making the case for a more sustained and ongoing bombing campaign against Iran, a move that would dramatically escalate the conflict.
