Israeli think tank simulates aftermath of ‘successful’ strike on Iran nuke facilities

Jerusalem (CNN) – An Israeli think tank with close links to the government has simulated what would happen in the Mideast and internationally if Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities — and concluded that reaction would be “in the direction of containment and restraint,” not the trigger for a larger war.

The Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) says it held a “war game” several weeks ago — when “it appeared that the fall of 2012 would be a critical period” — simulating the initial ramifications of Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“This sense of an imminent decision has since abated somewhat, but after the U.S. and Israeli elections, the question of an attack will undoubtedly resurface,” the think tank says in a report published this week in its online “INSS Insights.”

For its war game, INSS used ex-Israeli diplomats and military officials who played different roles, such as pretending to be the heads of state from Israel, the United States, Russia and Iran, reacting to developments in the first 48 hours after such an attack.

The war game was planned and enacted in September — the same month that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the United Nations General Assembly to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, holding up a picture of a spherical bomb and drawing a red line below the fuse.

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