I dont think anyone genuinely thinks Iran's a threat.
Yes, nations like France, England, USA, Israel, Australia & Saudi may pay lip service to the BS threat subject, but Iran are not as stupid as the US wants you to think!

Iran will not use that nuclear weapon, unless attacked ( if they got it )
Because them using it first, would:

1. Automatically mean their destruction
2. Turn anyone who's neutral with them against them
3. Give the US and other western states justification to do anything they
wanted
4. Bring substance to the enemies drive

Now, there's just no point in doing it. It wouldnt wipe Israel of the map ( for those morons who still think thats what he said ) and it wont bring down the USA, if anything it will embolden them both.

But, Iran having a nuclear weapons does bring a few advantages

1. The US will not attack a nuclear nation
2. Israel must use nuclear weapons to attack, which will be the end of
Israel
3. Iran will be respected, and given a seat at the table of important
decisions
4. Israel and the US Will think again before invading/occupying an arab
nation


Of course, the US and Israel cannot have this, because it means they have to accept Iran in its full blown nature.
A nuclear ME nation other than Israel, means those nations will be able to control their natural resources...

But, im certain all the rednecks out there will believe Iran deserves death, simply because they look arab ( for the mindless folk ), or because they have the oil, or because they dont like Israel, or because they look arab..

[edit on 19-11-2008 by Agit8dChop]

I don't care so much who views Iran as a threat. I want to know what Iran intends to do. If they are seeking a deterrent from "foreign aggression" then one bomb is not a threat to other countries. If Iran is seeking to start a war so some religious prophecy can be fulfilled - then one bomb is all they need.

But, Iran having a nuclear weapons does bring a few advantages

1. The US will not attack a nuclear nation
2. Israel must use nuclear weapons to attack, which will be the end of
Israel
3. Iran will be respected, and given a seat at the table of important
decisions
4. Israel and the US Will think again before invading/occupying an arab
nation

Despite what this article says, I don't think Iran is quite there yet — but she's getting close.

All the points you've stated are collectively the reason why I think Israel will attack Iran. When, exactly? I'm not sure. She can't leave it much longer, though. One thing is certain: It will be devastating.

It appears that not even the OP read the article that this thread was based upon. And I quote: "Iran has now produced roughly enough nuclear material to make, with added purification, a single atom bomb, according to nuclear experts analyzing the latest report from global atomic inspectors."

I dont know if thats hard for the OP and others to understand. In the OP's post he stated "we have to accept the fact that Iran has a nuclear bomb. " That is not what the article says at all. These are false statements. Do you know what entails "added purification" to turn enriched uranium into a substance useable in a nuclear bomb? Do you know how long it takes to build said nuclear bomb? This is fear mongering, pure and simple.

By the way, its a single ATOM bomb. Like the ones the that the U.S. used in World War II. Remember that? Other countries dont really consider Iran a threat, since Iran has no vested interest in going to war with anyone other than Israel who was put into place by the U.S. and stole their holy land. Before you spout your views based off of the U.S. propaganda programming, you should do some actual research into what is REALLY going on. The answers may surprise you.

I think it is virtually guaranteed that the same day Israel believes that Iran has a working nuclear bomb they will attack first. My greatest fear, and I hope I am wrong, is that the inevitable Israeli attack will be nuclear rather than conventional.

Consider the following:

1. Israel doesn't have a large enough military to wipe out all of Iran's threats with conventional power.
2. Many of Iran's nuclear installations are so well protected that a conventional attack will likely not destroy them.
3. Israel will certainly be counterattacked so they need to preserve as much of their conventional force as they can for defense of their homeland.
4. Israel doesn't have a good air route to attack Iran. Their best attack route was from Georgia but Russia preempted that scenario. (This is possibly the REAL reason for their invasion of Georgia but that is already being discussed on another thread.)
5. Israel will not be able to mount repeated attacks on Iran – their first attack has to do the job completely.
6. Israel has very few friends so they will probably be no more hated for a nuclear attack than a conventional one.
7. It appears that the US has told Israel we will not support or approve an attack on Iran (I'm still not sure about this one – it could be disinformation.)

This all leads me to believe that Israel faces a horrible choice. They cannot live with a nuclear armed Iran – that would be suicide. They don’t have the conventional military power to fight Iran and destroy the threat. They aren’t getting any serious support from the international community on sanctions and diplomacy. They apparently aren’t going to get military help from the US. That only leaves one option that I can see.

Now before anyone attacks me and calls me a war monger, I say again, I am not promoting this idea – only stating that the possibility exists. The more Israel is abandoned and ostracized by the rest of the world (the US included) the more it becomes like a cornered wild animal. The world needs to understand that the “Sampson Option” should be considered a real possibility.

According to the site fas.org (The Federation of American Scientists) Israel’s nuclear arsenal is estimated to be from 100 to 400 weapons. Their Jericho 2 missiles are thought to have a range of 2000 to 4000km. They also have three diesel submarines that are believed to be armed with a few (maybe 10 or 12) nuclear cruise missiles. Given that much power, as well as second strike capability, I would expect other nuclear powers like Russia and China to opt not to get involved.

This is why I think the Iranian situation is SO dangerous. But as I said before, this is just my opinion.

So???

They are not dumb to use it and under too much investigation and watch to let these arms slip into hands of Iranian-Insurgents in Iraq or Hezzbollah.

This is good news. We need more than one reason to keep/extend Bush in office. If we nuke Iran, that just means that freedom will prosper that much more.

I agree that the spectre of war looms large on the horizon if Iran were to test a nuclear bomb. We wouldnt be surprised if israel followed suit. As we arent having enough in Iraq, once again the entire middle east may turn into a flashpoint.

Iran is aware of Israel's nuclear capability and percieves a threat from it. hence in my opinion it is trying to build a nuclear deterrent.

Iran has a lot of support in the Arab and Islamic world and some of these countreis such as Saudi Arabia are also US allies.

The question is if a war were to erupt between Israel and Iran, would US step in with Israel?

remeber in the Georgia conflict the US did not intervene because it was RUSSIA ! But Iran is not RUSSIA!

Originally posted by Agit8dChop
1. The US will not attack a nuclear nation
2. Israel must use nuclear weapons to attack, which will be the end of
Israel
3. Iran will be respected, and given a seat at the table of important
decisions
4. Israel and the US Will think again before invading/occupying an Arab
nation
[edit on 19-11-2008 by Agit8dChop]

1. The US for the last few weeks has been attacking a nuclear nation - Pakistan.
2. The US and Russia have done well fighting each other through proxies such as in Vietnam and Afghanistan. I'm not sure why you think Israel would need a nuclear weapon to make an effective attack. The nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed a combined 220,000 people, World War II killed over 70,000,000 people most of it civilian deaths and many of those caused by conventional air raids.
3. Nuclear weapons do not garner respect they garner fear. In the case of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons I fear it will only garner a prompt attack to prevent it from obtaining more.
4. I doubt it. The allies occupied Iran in World War I and II and the area continues to remain of strategic interest to the west and east.

Obsidience

If Israel attacks Iran along with the US it is quite possible that a 3 rd world war may start.
Picure this
On one side : US, Israel, UK, Japan, Australia and others
On Iran side: Arab countries, Russia, India, China and others

While this may sound impractical, war is a state of mind where rational decisions take a back seat !

We definitely dont want a 3 rd world war !

Just before World War II, when Germany was quietly militarizing, everybody frowned and waggled their finger, but nobody really did anything about it.

I mean, so what if those Nazis build a military, as long as they keep it to themselves, right? They're allowed to increase their own defensive capabilities. And they aren't in high standing with the rest of the western powers, so clearly the idea of them suddenly forming any kind of powerful alliance is far-fetched.

There are all kinds of rumors going around of Iranian - North Korean nuclear trading, and successful underground Iranian nuclear bomb tests. And don't underestimate the extent of Iranian influence in the Middle East, and even the Asian continent. I just hope history isn't repeating itself... in this day and age, the stakes are a little higher.

Common guy's this is nothing more than PROPAGANDA it's the same kinda BS we have seen before and will see again.