Israel has about 150 nuclear weapons, all thanks to US. With US backing, it is easy for them to threaten Iran for no reason. Israel has pretty selfish, live & let die attitude, like USA they are invaders & war mongers. Poor Palestinians & Arabs/Muslims are victims, let down by US time & again.

Pushpa, Brisbane, Australia

The sooner Israel moves on this the better it will be for all concerned

Simon Lewis, Toronto Ont, Canada

karim said : "Iran would have been incinerated"
If you knew anything about that war, you wouldn't enlighten us with your opinions. Israel pushed US to start giving Saddam chemical weapons among others, US then pushed the rest of world to do so. Iraq would never have been able to build a bomb anyway.

Cyrus, Malmö,

Amazing and ironic that Iran would have been incinerated had the Israelis not terminated Saddam's nuclear ambitions back in 1980.
After all the warnings, what needs to be done should be done.

karim, Fairport, NY, USA

To attack Iran and plunge the whole world into economic disaster via oil prices, for WMD they do not have and a weaponization program discontinued five years past, and while being fully within their legal rights under the NPT and with ongoing inspections by the IAEA, is just unsupportable madness.

tarquinis, Seattle, USA

also keep in mind who was the aggressors in the story of Israel..If Israel wasn't attacked so many times, so many countries would not have been invaded .All countries have the right to protect themselves and Israel is also under that right.

See it is logic !!!

Benjamin, Nababeep, South Africa

tim
You have the same reasoning as America had prior to the second world war.They thought by staying neutral they wont get involved until the day of the bombing of pearl harbour.
They were not even threatened by Japan .Let alone barking.

Benjamin, Nababeep, South Africa

The world has throughout history proven the need for jews to be more then a little prepared when their enemies call for their destruction. For Israel to put it's faith in a few meaningless sanctions or the IAEA would be to ignore the lessons of history and only bring the world closer to nuclear war

andrew, London, UK

Most Americans are blindly pro Israel, in spite of its aggressions against the real indigeonous people of the middle east, because of AIPAC and the jewish controlled USA press. Ashkenazi jews are from Khazastan, please go back there and leave Israel to the descendents of Abraham, as was intended.

adamweishaupt, charleroi,

Time to embrace the inevitable, the West has waisted all this time waiting for UN and EU to do something, the leadership has failed the world. All that is left now is war, this year or next, the storm is coming. Chances are good that it has already begun, cyber, covert, economic, etc...

DMK, Miami, USA

*Iran's Happy Jewish Population A Big Problem For Israel*

If Ahmadinejad really is Hitler, why are some 25,000 Jews living peacefully in Iran?

jayil, london, uk

Hmmm... If it is true that leaders in Iran stated they desire to wipe Israel off the map, who can blame Israel for getting prepared? The most effective defense is a very superior offense. Israel has the ability to use advanced bombing techniques anywhere in the Middle East, in self-defense, but proactively, of course!

Dakota, Lake Stevens, Washington, USA

" It is the Jewish land for the last 3000" -- Roi, Beer Sheva, Israel

Does that mean US will have to give back the land to native American's, Australian's to Aborigene's and Europe to Neanderthal's, etc ... you know where this is leading?

jayil, london, uk

Positions of all sides too entrenched. Better offer hand of friendship rather than war with no winners. Talk to your enemies, resolve differences and address injustices. Politicians will go to their bunkers while civilians will die. Israel unbending & U.S armed, Palestinians suffering, U.N. useless

Brendan Duffy, Malaga, Spain

One thing is for sure: Israel is and will stay in it's place no matter what you all say. It is the Jewish land for the last 3000. You can open the history pages and read. Where was the Palestinian people 70 years ago??? The answer is that they didn't exist as a nation.

Roi, Beer Sheva, Israel

Israel's real purpose is to force the US to attack Iran. Israel knows full well Iran is not close to having nukes. Israel objects to any other state in the region having influence matching Israel's. Israel hopes Iran will retaliate against US forces in Iraq, getting the US to do Israel's dirty work.

August West, Lutz, FL, USA

Tim: Yes, civilized countries have civilized duties. Such as not stealing other peoples' land and then putting them into modern-day Warsaw Ghettos. Iran has given the IAEA far more access to its nuclear facilities than has Israel. Iran has as much right to nukes as does Israel.

August West, Lutz, FL, USA

It is really a bad idea if Israel attacks Iran, Iran's nuclear program is under IAEA 24/7 surveilance cameras and attacking Iran for no reason starts the demand for a real weapon propgram. Under no circumstances a country is allowed to attack another country, period.

Bob, Irvine, United States

The more the people of US and Israel use misleading statements such as "wipe of the map" for their case to bomb Iran, the more untrustworthy they'll seem to those who are credible and have actually done their research. Who are clearly in the majority. Israel doesn't have a good case. Fool me once...

jayil, london, uk

"Why are they planning it? Because Iran is a political obstacle to neoliberal hegemony." -- Daniel, London, UK

Argeed, althought Iran may have actually known about this all along..... hence their nuclear program. We can now clearly agree that they are only trying to defend themselves.

jayil, london, uk

"Why are they planning it? Because Iran is a political obstacle to neoliberal hegemony." -- Daniel, London, UK

Argeed, althought Iran may have actually known about this all along..... hence their nuclear program. We can now clearly agree that they are only trying to defend themselves...

jayil, london, uk

If someone brags they are going to get a gun and shoot you until your wiped out, what would you do? Good for Isreal and i say if they are invaded and the USA helps, that we destroy and leave. No more occupations, cease fires and divided countries, like Korea, Vietnam, Iraq War 1.

William, Atlanta, USA

An astonishing range of responses from people with no idea what they are talking about.

The impending attack has been meticulously planned for years, whether it happens this summer or next is immaterial.

Why are they planning it? Because Iran is a political obstacle to neoliberal hegemony.

Daniel, London, UK

Israel is only trying to protect its citizens; they might go a bit over the top sometimes but history has been hard to their people and has often showed them that neighbors are not always friends. Israel doesn't have conscription just because they all love to wear uniforms.

David Masu, Zürich,

Any country, such as Iran, that continually threatens to "Wipe off the Map" another country can not be allowed the means to do so.

Adam Kinory, New York, United States

Tari,

Israel buys its Lockheed F-16s and BoeingF-15s from the US Manufacturers. Nothing at all to do with Great Britain. A quick look at any aircraft magazine would tell you that.

Iran gets its combat aircraft from Russia and China, those bastions of democracy.

Steve, Bristol,

Carlos, Los Angeles, USA
The total destruction of a country and assassination of America's next President is against the law ... and could get on the FBI's/Irans RGC's watch list. Furthermore, your I.P has now been logged. Just be careful what you say buddy!

Here in England we're not that crazy

jayil, london, uk

"How did they get the F16's and F15's, Britain does not have these planes?

tari, London, uk"

Tari, can you explain why Britain needs any weapons at all ? Who exactly is threatening to attack it ?

michael, London,

"Israel lied to the British and American government about Dimona. Israel violated the sovereignty of Italy in their arrest of Mordecai Vanunu.

B Johnson , London, UK"
Well done, Israel. Mr Johnson, better look at your own country which is currently occupying at least 2 sovereign states

michael, London,

Iran has to be destroy completely. If that means to use nuclear bombs, so be it. Iran has to return tot he stone age.
The next step isa to kill Obama, the left wing radical pro-Hamas. Then the world would a better palce to live.

Carlos, Los Angeles, USA

How would you react if someone threated your homeland day after day? take 5 minutes and youll talk differently.

eliran, Jerusalem, Israel

Good luck to Iran and good luck to other logical thinkers. It appears only a few around.
I wont even waste my time with such stupidity but will always support what is right.
Iran has never attacked another country.
Long live Iran!

MANDI, London, UK

Israel lied to the British and American government about Dimona. Israel violated the sovereignty of Italy in their arrest of Mordecai Vanunu. Israel refuses to acknowledge treaties on landmine and cluster bomb use and were responsible for the bombing of the USS Liberty.

B Johnson , London, UK

why not say it out loud - the voices heard against Israel's right to defend its self are the modern anti semitism's voice. by reading them I am sure that Israel must defend it self even if all the "moralistic" Britons wouldn't like it.

yair, haifa, Israel

no wonder all of the british jews are leaving great britian. all of this rampant anti-semetism here, disguised as criticism of israel. you guys all sound like the liberals in neville chamberlain's government. shame on you.

tomer ha namer, tel aviv, israel

Iran, and it's prime minister in every possible apurtuity treat abot distroying Israel. Who treats on the Israeli security needs to know Israel will attack him just for diffencing the Israeli nation.

By far, the only ones who treated are the Iranians.

David, N.Y.C, US

Britain's abandonment of Palestine 60 years ago must rate as one the worst political decisions ever made.

Paul, Coventry,

Good luck Iran. You have every right to nuclear weapons as Israel does.

Bob Parry, Happy Camp, USA

Obama you have my vote.
Jewish lobby is concerned with a black president they did not anticipate. Now they R trying to say, we can drag U into a war U do not want. Israeil's attack on Iran will be in violation of international law N distabilising regionally and globally. Where is your n-bomb proof.

Charles Weston, London, UK

Israel is playing with fire, cripple the rest of the worlds economy, while flexing your muscle. There is 2 thing to remember, the world is not ISRAEL, and Europe will not have its economy destroyed by Israel. IRAN'S oil is too important at this time. RACISM & RELIGIOUS bigotry is alive in EUROPE.

Daphne kenward, Cambridge, UK

"Israel flexes muscles with 'Iran attack' drill"

Now you know why Iran needs weapons?

Don't they have the right to defend themselves ?

Who's actually threatening whom?

jayil, london, uk

Iran will retaliate, oil installations all over the Middle East are the easiest of targets, a barrel will be a 1000$. Guess what that will do to the oil dependent developed economies
..and the exact duplicate of all installations are hidden deep in the mountains

t. Andre, London,

Iran building a bomb, ha ha, I believe they purchared nuclear bombs from Pakastan long ago. If someone attacks them it could get pretty nasty and I would strongly warn against such stupid moves. Unfortunitely no one listens to me not even my wife.

maggieman, LA, CA

If you want to see astronomical oil prices, then let Iran obtain nuclear weapons, achieve regional hegemony, and destabilize the Middle East. Israel would be doing everyone a favor. Suck it up now so that sometime in the future, we don't have to pay a higher price for today's inaction.

Scott, Durham, NC, USA

What a double standard America has! Iraq could not stay in occupied Kuwait or it would be destroyed and plundered but Israel can remain in occupied Palestine! Iran needs a nuclear umbrella much more than Israel because what they have in Iran is not stolen from others like the Zionists did Palestine.

Lonnie, detroit, USA

Once the Iranian nuclear threat is gone, you will hear a sigh of relief rising from Cairo to Riyadh, from Beirut to Bagdad. Iran's arab neighbors are terrified of a nuclear Iran dominating the region and driving it into religious fundamentalism, as it is doing with Lebanon today (through Hezbollah).

Thomas, Munich,

You mentioned the IAEA but forgot to mention that the IAEA has stated that they have found zero evidence to suggest that Iran is weaponizing it's atomic program, a program it has a right to under the NNPT (NPT).

Stephen Burgoyne Coulson, Vancouver, Canada

Its a matter a survival for Israel. A few nukes aim at Israel would probably destroy the whole country. They can't take any chance on that happening.

I'm not concerned with Israel having nuclear weapons because its the only deterrent they have against any attack by the Arab countries.

Rosihan Hadi, Kuala Lumpur,

Any amount of missles, terrorist attacks or whatever is better than a nuclear bomb. Iran can be stopped now, once they have nuclear weapons we won't be able to touch them.

Pauline Renton, Camberley, UK

Iran has never said it wants to destroy israel, but they have said that wish to see the zionist regime which occupies the land of palestine disapear from the pages of history.

The want to see an end to a state who either expelled or continues to oppress the Arab majority which belongs there.

Rich, Harrogate, UK

"Iran, on the other hand, aims to wipe out Israel - they basically say so on a monthly basis. They should be stopped."

In the last 60 years how many countries have Iran bombed/invaded and how many countries have Israel & US bombed/invaded? ... It's the actions that count not words.

jayil, london, uk

Bob Parry, Yes Israel has over 150 nuclear weapons. But they would NEVER use them to destroy an Arab state!! (Unless it was attacked first with a nuclear strike, and only in self defence).
Iran, on the other hand, has vowed to destroy Israel! So why else do they need a nuclear program?

Mary, Stevenage, UK

"nucelar threat".. If West strikes eventually, that will be substantial targets, - command-control, strategic and anti-ship missile bases, weapons production plants, and yes Natanz complex. People with medieval mentality armed with inter-continental rockets, what a nonsense.

Alex, Cardiff, UK

The fact Israel has nukes doesnt mean Iran should have them. Israel has had hundreds of nukes, for decades, but has not used (obviously) or thretened to use them against anyone, ever. Iran, on the other hand, aims to wipe out Israel - they basically say so on a monthly basis. They should be stopped.

Alex, London, UK

The US said Iraq had 'weapons' but found none. Do not trust them again. We do not have nuclear weapons. If you want to know who really has them, just look inside Israel. You'll find plenty. The west should work towards disarming Israel, in order to bring a peaceful nuclear free middle east. Thanks

Abdul Ali, Tehran, Iran

Israel flexes its muscles, eh? They may talk tough, but I notice that the "muscles" are American-built warplanes paid for with American tax dollars.

I would be far more impressed if Israel built it's own war machine instead of begging one from us all the time.

wrh, Hawaii, US

more history lessons: 1973- again, egypt and syria plan on the destruction of Israel. This time they not only have the support of fellow Arab states but also the backing and funding from the soviet union. I wonder why Israel takes these threats seriously?

Chris, new york,

Good luck Iran. Israel has over 150 nuclear weapons, and you have every right to them as well.

Bob Parry, Happy Camp, USA

Iran has already attacked Israel in numbers too numerous to count - via Hezbelloh and Hamas. There is no way that Israel will allow Iran to obtain the ability to produce nuclear weapons. They will take action with or without US/EU/UN approval. It's only a matter of if Iran blinks. Israel will not.

Chris, new york,

In 1947 the UN voted to create separate Jewish & Arab States in Palestine. The Arab States & Muslim world rejected this & declared war instead. Since then they have repeatedly vowed to destroy her. Acts of war such as closing the Suez Canal & the vitriolic threats from Iran must be taken seriously.

Bob, Paradise Valley, USA

I doubt very much that W. is going to do anything, and think it unlikely that Israel will either, unless the Iranians start it. I will check back in five years and see how the Europeans are doing in facing the Iranian nukes after the U.S. has left the Mideast entirely.

James Fox, Allentown, PA, USA

Alex,

Israel is not a nuclear threat to anybody. Israel denies having nuclear weapons to avoid forcing Arab governments to try to build their own nuclear stockpiles because of public pressure. Israel's deterrent has also prevented another Arab-Israeli war.

Andre, Portland, USA

Mandi from London, crack a few history books, Israel has almost always been attacked, not the other way around.

andrea, london, uk

It is indeed nice to note that some westerners are very rationale and fair in their comments. Keep it up guys, peace be with you. For the others who harp on war, wait till you see love ones die and returned to you, you will not want war then. Don't let self interest overcome rationale thinking.

Lim , Johor Bahru, Malaysia

I am against more violence but I'm also completely against Iran having nuclear weapons. Iran is flexing its muscles in Iraq and with this continued defiance. What if Iran does decide to 'bite'? I would prefer Israel and the US influence to the oppressive Iranian regime.

Simon, London, UK

tony, If another country declaired that they planned to 'wipe them from the face of the Earth', I'd be pretty upset if they were allowed nuclear weapons, wouldn't you?

Robert, Northampton, England

Tony to answer your question, Israel has nuclear weapons because the French were naive enough to give them the technology back in the late 50's Israel still denys that it has nuclear weapons, Israel has never allowed an IAEA inspector in. Sound familiar? Israel is a bigger nuclear treat an Iran!

Alex, Kenilworth,

This is the Bush administration double-crossing everyone again, just as with Iraq, and getting a kick out of "shock and awe" one last time...Do they really believe in "Armageddon"? I hope Olmert does not -and he too is being double-crossed, for oil and electoral gain:Nuclear war "because we can"...

Julia Iskandar, London, England

Bear in mind that the destruction of Israel is one very small part of what Iran wants.

Iran wants an Islamic world under its control. Note the fear of its neighbours. We should all be very scared if it achieves its goal.

leila , manchester, uk

Tim USA
Iran has allowed numerous IAEA inspections according to their legal obligations. Iran has even gone beyond it's obligation, voluntarily. You are influenced by media hype in USA. The regime in Iran is simply barking, military action will result in many innocent civilian deaths on both sides.

John Woodgate, London, UK

Right so Israel doesn't like Iran having weapons so they will use their own weapons to stop Iran.
Remind me how many countries Israel has attacked in the past couple of decades and how many Iran has attacked.
Fantastic logic. Always is.

Mandi , London, UK

I applaud Israel for preparing to destroy Iran's nuclear sites. I hope we help Israel turn Iran's 3 nuclear sites into dust and rubble and then repeat the procedure in 5 years after Iran attempts to rebuild. Iran is a suicidal state which is undeterrable in it's goal for the destruction of Israel

Mark Montgomery, NYC, USA

They'll fire a few rockets then run back home and call 'Israel Lobby' & get the U.S to invade and continue their endless wars ... endangering the lives of American soldiers. Bush promised to protect Israel until the last living America citizen.

Stanzler, NY, USA

"If Iran had nothing to hide, then why do they not allow the IAEA to oversee their operations?" ~ Tim, Syracuse, United States

Would the U.S and Israel be happy if Iran/Arabs forced IAEA to oversee our operations?

Stanzler, NY, USA

Israel and the US are determined to go to war with Iran before the end of G W Bush's persidency ends. It's all about controlling the Middle East, and ultimately, oil.

Iran has the right to nuclear weapons, if they are producing them. How many do Israel have?

Mike, Herndon, United States

Tony, Why does Israel have nukes in the first place? Because it is surrounded by Arabs who have made many attempts to destroy it. http://www.iris.org.il/sizemaps/arabwrld.htm

Wallace Edward Brand, Alexandria, VA, US

Agreed - as much as everyone would hate to see oil prices rise, this is quickly beginning to seem like the only viable option. Iran won't cooperate no matter what sanctions / incentives are thrown at them.

Yon D., Boston, USA

oh for heavens sake
everyone has seen the reasons for and against, what can else you say to power-hungry and paranoid old men and their slavish young soldiers who get a kick from big guns and explosions

ayla, london,

There will only be one logical solution to the problem and Israel is practicing for it.

Oil prices will probably rise some, then drop by far more than they went up, once the speculators are satisfied that no oil wells were set ablaze and Iran's nuke threat is gone.

Ed, Ellenton, FL

Let's get on with it - sooner the better.

Alan, Edinburgh,

How did they get the F16's and F15's, Britain does not have these planes?

tari, London, uk

To answer your question, Tony....Civilizes countries have civilized responsibilities. The Iranian Government has demonstrated anything but showing the world they are a civilized entity. If Iran had nothing to hide, then why do they not allow the IAEA to oversee their operations?

Tim, Syracuse, United States

Are the rest of the world expected to pay astronomical oil prices, because Israel deosn't want nuclear weapons in Iran? Why does Israel has nukes in the first place?

Tony, Birmingham, uk