TEHRAN, Iran — As the world braces for another round of escalatory exchanges between Israel and Iran, some ordinary Iranians who had previously opposed any move by their government to develop nuclear weapons are having a change of heart.“I think we should go for it,” said Vafa Sharzad, a 33-yearold chemical engineer.Sharzad said she had always supported negotiations with Western governments over Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and welcomed the landmark nuclear accord of nine years ago between Iran and several world powers, believing it would bring greater economic opportunity and an easing of international isolation.“But I have my doubts today,” she said.Although the nuclear accord has been imperiled since then-President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018, Iran’s government continues to insist it does not intend to develop nuclear arms. And many sanctions- weary Iranians have long been wary of any nuclear moves that would trigger further economic hardship.However, the most direct outbreak yet of hostilities with Israel is changing the thinking of some here.A year after the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip, Israel has taken aim not only at Hamas, whose attack on southern Israel triggered that devastating conflict, but at Iran’s other regional proxies— Houthi rebels in Yemen, and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.Iran last week unleashed a barrage of missiles against Israel that it said was in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and a series of other deadly strikes against the Iranian- backed group, which for months has been firing rockets into Israel.Israel said its missile-defense system repelled most of the incoming projectiles, but nonetheless declared it would retaliate. The Biden administration, fearing an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities or other major infrastructure, has sought to deescalate the confrontation.The U.S. president was asked last week whether he would support Israel hitting Iran’s nuclear sites.“The answer is no,” Biden replied.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long contended that Iran, and its nuclear aspirations in particular, pose an existential threat to Israel.Since the onset of the current crisis, some Israeli political figures, inside and outside government, have called openly for the Israeli military to seize a chance to strike at Iran’s nuclear sites.“This is a one-time window of opportunity in which we have both the legitimacy and the ability to severely damage the Iranian regime and its nuclear program,” Naftali Bennett, a hawkish former prime minister, said in a video statement released Tuesday.Such ...
