European countries are imposing unprecedented sanctions against Iran in part in hopes of preventing an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear installations that could further destabilize the Middle East and wreak havoc on the global economy.

A former senior adviser on the Middle East to the last four US presidents says that "the negatives far outweigh the positives" of war with Iran and the United States should augment Israel's nuclear weapons delivery systems to dissuade it from attacking the Islamic Republic.

The Atlantic Council's Iran Task Force held a public briefing on January 17 on the rising conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran.

Barbara Slavin, senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center, and member of its Iran Task Force, appeared on WAMU 88.5 FM's Kojo Nnamdi Show and KCRW 89.9 FM's To The Point to discuss the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi-Rowshan and what it means for US-Iran relations.

The Barack Obama administration is increasingly giving the impression that it supports a policy of regime change against Iran - a policy that could backfire and convince Iran to build nuclear weapons.

Senior U.S. officials have suggested recently that mounting economic sanctions are meant to "tighten the noose" around the Iranian government.

Barbara Slavin, senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center, and member of its Iran Task Force, was featured on a videocast of Bloggingheads.tv with Meir Javedanfar of The Guardian. The debate centers around US and Israeli attitudes toward Iran and the prospects for war.

The recent escalation in Iranian threats to blockade oil shipments and attack U.S. Navy vessels are meant to push up the price of oil and divert domestic opinion from an economic crisis but are not likely to lead to a war in the Persian Gulf, in the view of Iran experts.

Iran is courting the opposition to Syrian President Bashar al- Assad, seeking to maintain a crucial alliance in the event that Assad falls.

So far, Iranian officials have met at least twice with members of the National Coordinating Committee (NCC). The Damascus-based group opposes foreign intervention in Syria and advocates reform to resolve the nine-month-old crisis.