Iran Threatens

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in October called for Israel to be "wiped off the map."  Now Iran intends to restart it's nuclear program.  President Bush summed up the obvious, "The current president of Iran has announced that the destruction of Israel is an important part of their agenda, and that's unacceptable. And the development of a nuclear weapon, it seems like to me, would make him a step closer to achieving that objective."

Israel Counters

Ehud Olmert, who is acting Israeli Prime Minister during Ariel Sharon's hospitalization, said last Tuesday Israel cannot allow Iranian nuclear weapons, "Under no circumstances, and at no point, can Israel allow anyone with these kinds of malicious designs against us to have control of weapons of destruction that can threaten our existence."   This pragmatic posture is tempered somewhat by Israel's hopes to diffuse a potential nuclear crisis with Iran. But we know Israel will not shy from using military force as when the Iraqi nuclear reactor was destroyed in 1981.  There is also support for this use of force from Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the rival Israeili Likud party. 

Saturday Israel repeated it's firm stance against allowing a nuclear Iran and stated preparation for failure of diplomacy. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Israel "must have the capability to defend itself...and this we are preparing."

It's all Fun and Games till Someone gets Vaporized.

Hamid Reza Asefi from the Iranian Foreign Ministry accused Israel of playing games. "We consider Mofaz's comments a form of psychological warfare. Israel knows just how much of a fatal mistake it would be (taking military action against Iran)," said Asefi on Sunday, "This is just a childish game by Israel."

Better think again Hamid.  Israel's cause is just, and they have acted before.  The world will not go along with your imagined superiority.