TEL AVIV — These are historic and fateful days for Israel. Its air force has destroyed all of Iran's air defenses, bombed multiple nuclear and infrastructure facilities, assassinated many members of Iran’s top military leadership as well as top nuclear scientists, and forced thousands of Iranians to flee their homes.

Yet despite these heavy blows, Israel is far from winning the war against the Islamic Republic. The Israeli strikes have not destroyed Iran’s nuclear program, and unless the offensive results in an agreement with the United States imposing strict limits on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, it will be difficult for Israel to halt Tehran's advanced enrichment program.

Worst-case scenario

On Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry announced that parliament is preparing a bill mandating the country's withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Such a dramatic move could significantly alter the state of play; not bound by the treaty's constraints, Iran could argue that having been attacked by a nuclear power (according to foreign reports, Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal), it is justified in pursuing nuclear weapons.