Official: Europe would be spared in Iran's retaliation against U.S. strike
ABU DHABI — Europe does not expect to become a target of Iranian
retaliation in the event of a U.S. strike on Teheran's nuclear weapons program.
A leading European defense official predicted Teheran would retaliate against
the United States for any such strike.
Ingmar Oldberg,
deputy research director of the Swedish Defense Research Agency, said Europe
would not join Washington in any campaign against Iran, Middle East Newsline reported.
In his briefing, Oldberg presented a research project of the Swedish
Defense Research Agency, also known as FOI, that envisioned the
repercussions of any U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear program. The agency
determined that the United States could weaken Iran with a surgical air
attack.
"Finally, whereas such an attack would probably stir anger among some
extremists, the researchers do not expect a surge of terrorist attacks in
the West," Oldberg told the Gulf Research Center in Dubai on April 30.
Neither Israel nor Europe was expected to participate in the U.S.
campaign, Oldberg said. In wake of such a strike, Iran was expected to
undermine the U.S.-led counter-insurgency effort in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"The researchers from the FOI also expect a unified European front
opposing any European military intervention," Oldberg said.
Oldberg said Russia has engaged in a "strategic partnership" with Iran
while seeking to maintain excellent relations with the West. He said any
U.S. strike would present Russia as a moderate.
