VOICES

Andrei Piontkovsky

Political analyst

Andrei Piontkovsky is considered one of the most pro-Israel Russian political analysts, observers say, and doesn’t shy away from criticizing the motives of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Piontkovsky, also a mathematician, recently suggested that Putin’s decision to sell air defense missiles to Iran would actually destabilize the region and drive up the price of oil, which may be his goal. The analyst reportedly said that Israel would likely feel compelled to launch a military strike at Iranian facilities in the near future before the Russian systems go operational, which could trigger a broader regional conflict. He also said that “if Israel does not act now, the world is likely to confront a nuclear-armed Iran in the near term, something that could lead other countries in the oil-rich region to try to go nuclear and compel them to raise prices.” (Photo: Dmitry Rozhkov / CC BY-SA 3.0)