Iranian regime may struggle to recover, but could decide to push for bomb, experts say

Israeli strikes leave Iran's wounded government facing a number of questions, including whether it should give up on negotiations and rush its nuclear program.

Israel’s military strikes on Iran have struck at the heart of the country’s military leadership and nuclear program, creating a possible vacuum at the top of the regime that could hinder its ability to recover from the onslaught, experts say.

But — assuming that it still can — there is a scenario in which the strikes could lead Tehran to abandon negotiations over its nuclear program and instead rush toward building a bomb, according to analysts and former U.S. officials.

The killing of top Iranian military officers as well as several nuclear scientists will likely have sparked fears in Tehran that Israeli intelligence had deeply penetrated the regime and that other senior figures could also be in danger.

Smoke and fire billow from the site of an alleged Israeli strike in southern Tehran on Friday. Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty ImagesIsrael has previously pulled off brazen assassinations inside Iran, targeting senior government scientists involved in the country’s nuclear program and the political leader of the Iranian-backed Palestinian group Hamas when he was visiting Tehran.

“You have to assume the system is shell-shocked,” said Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute think tank. “They don’t know… how badly they’re infiltrated” by Israel.