We obviously spend a lot of time focused on, as a non-state actor, al Qaeda, but then nations like North Korea and Iran that pose a challenge to U.S. interests.

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On its border with Lebanon, Israel already faces one radical non-state actor, Hizbullah, that is formally dedicated to Israel's destruction and has a powerful arsenal of Iranian-supplied missiles at its disposal.

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The Iranian nuclear threat jeopardizes Israel, could spark a nuclear arms race in the region, and could provide a way for a non-state actor to get a nuclear weapon, Jones said.

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However, as Dina Esfandiary, a proliferation expert at the IISS in London, argues, Hizbullah, which increasingly wants to be seen as a state actor rather than a non-state one, would have little interest in acquiring them.

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