Last month Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran’s facilities for making nuclear weapons. The war lasted 12 days and ended with a ceasefire orchestrated by President Donald Trump.

Israel’s attack was justified because it was an act of self defense. Iran has been threatening to annihilate Israel for decades. Iran also has been developing the nuclear weapons and long range missiles to achieve that objective.

Trump and the presidents who preceded him established the policy that Iran must not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. They pursued a diplomatic and/or economic sanctions approach. These efforts included the JCPOA signed in 2015. President Barack Obama considered it the best possible agreement under the circumstances. However its inspection mechanism was weak and long-range ballistic missiles were not covered. Sunset clauses scheduled the end of inspection and prohibition protocols. At best, the JCPOA had the potential to delay Iran’s nuclear weapons program but not to end it. President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the JCPOA in 2018 and pursued a policy of “maximum economic pressure” against Iran. With all of this, Iran’s march towards a nuclear weapon continued.

Iran’s claim of wanting only a peaceful nuclear program is bogus. To generate electricity from a nuclear power plant it is sufficient to enrich uranium only to 3.67 percent purity. Iran has enriched to 60 percent purity.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has long accused Iran of violating its non-proliferation obligations. Last month the IAEA went a step further. It sent a report to member states declaring that Iran is not complying with its obligations regarding nuclear non-proliferation. Iran’s stock of 60% purity enriched uranium had grown to 408 kilograms. Further enriching to 90% can be done quickly. That is enough for nine nuclear bombs .

Despicable leaders, good decisions

President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are national leaders I despise. Netanyahu is carrying out a genocidal war against the Palestinians. Trump is a corrupt, erratic wannabe autocrat trying to undermine American democracy. However they did make good decisions in this case that have to be analyzed on their own merits .

President Trump: It is in America’s interest that Iran not have a nuclear weapon. Iran has declared itself to be an enemy of the U.S. since 1979. It is not just Israel and the U.S. that are concerned. A nuclear armed Iran would dominant the Middle East. That’s why neighboring Arab states like Saudia Arabia and Qatar feel threatened by an Iranian nuclear bomb. Our NATO allies also are concerned. Under the circumstances President Trump was right to join in the attack. Some people are upset that Trump did not have authorization from Congress. Neither did Democratic presidents when they attacked Bosnia, Syria, Libya and Yemen.

Trump also deserves considerable credit for achieving a ceasefire after 12 days of war and being open to negotiations with Iran.

Prime Minister Netanyahu

Israel’s prime minister has warned for years about the Iranian program to develop nuclear weapons . Much of the world was skeptical.

In January, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists wrote that Iran was at the point that it could build a nuclear weapon in a matter of weeks or at most one year. Waiting for the “international community” to act decisively was no longer an option. An attack now was possible because Israel had destroyed Iran’s air defenses, an advantage that wouldn’t last indefinitely. Netanyahu degraded an existential threat to his country while it was still possible to do so.

There are reasons for optimism Here’s why:

The ceasefire arranged by Trump may hold.

Netanyahu does not want to antagonize Trump; Israel needs time to replenish Iron Dome; its economy and national budget are under considerable strain.

Iran’s dictator, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wants the ceasefire to block Israel and/or the U.S. from attacking missile sites and weapons grade enrichment facilities again.

An agreement is possible: According to Iran’s Tasnim New Agency, discussions with the E3 ( United Kingdom, Germany, France) will begin this week. This may progress to actual negotiations including the U.S. but probably not Israel. Reaching an agreement is feasible. Iran would have enrichment facilities on its own territory but only to the extent needed to generate electricity. That would satisfy the U.S., the E3, Arab neighbors and Europe. Iran could accept that for two reasons: It has always declared, albeit falsely, that its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes only. Iran also needs relief from sanctions that have devastated its economy. Israel will have to live with the agreement because it cannot afford to antagonize Trump.

Unfortunately, it is possible that the ceasefire will be broken and/or any negotiations that start will not result in an effective agreement . None of that would negate the fact that the Twelve-Day War was justified and that Trump and Netanyahu have made good decisions so far.

Richard Fein holds a master’s degree in political science and an MBA in economics. He can be reached at columnist@gazettenet.com.