Will technical isolation work? A proposed solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis

摘要

This paper is situated within the global growing interest in the security of the Persian Gulf. Following the call for a pre-emptive air strike by the United States and Israel against Iran to crush or damage extensively its nuclear facilities, the debate on whether or not such an attack is justified and feasible, and what alternative strategy will yield the best result, had become of great concern among scholars around the world. This paper positions itself as an antagonist to the pre-emptive air strike option. It argues that the consequences of a pre-emptive air strike and its failure margin considering the location of the targeted facilities and the political situation in Iran have been seriously underestimated. It recommends that instead of a pre-emptive air strike, the Iranian nuclear programme crisis can be solved in a peaceful and more logical way, through technical isolation.