Iran maneuvering Israel in a show of nuclear strength

to join a high stakes game unless you are very good. Iran has had several thousand years to work at it. Of course, the loser can always pull a gun but he usually get it in the chest before the story ends.

Duh. In a deep underground facility, it would be possible for Israel to strike the bunker first with incendiary devices and then with HE devices to collapse the structure in on itself. If the uranium burns in a chemical furnace with phosphorus it is rendered un-salvageable. But stored above ground guarantees that a hit will scatter it all over. 1) Iran reaps all the weeping propaganda victory of deformed babies etc. 2) It can be shoveled up off the ground and re-used. All this ignores what is really going to happen: First Israel will take down the IADS as we did in Syria. Then Israel will insert airborne special forces teams and actually take the uranium out on transports. Then we will destroy several installations across Iran with air-strikes.

Roya, Babak, and Rostam, it is great to hear you support us and ask our assistance. I hope you will not mind if Ha'aretz forwards your email addresses to Mossad so you can be contacted in case you are willing to become agents for Israel inside Iran. We need many more Iranian agents who are loyal to Israel. Among other things we will very likely need you to supply GPS coordinates for Iranian sites that need to be bombed. You will be helping Iran; if our targeting is imprecise we will have to use many more bombs and there will be more civilians killed. By helping Israel bomb Iran you are working in the best interest of the people of Iran. It is simply wonderful that you are patriotic enough to do this. After the war is over, perhaps you will get medals from the Israeli government and we might publish your names and photographs in Israeli newspapers describing the wonderful ways you assisted both Israel and Iran.

We iranians hate ahmadi nejad he is a new rising islamic hitler please stop him we need your help U.S and israel must take military option we will finish the job , we will be thankful if israel attack iran and help us to destroy revolution gaurds (pasdars)bases in islamic republic... Long live Israel and free dom for Iran

I'm an iranian ,please help we iranians , U.S and israel must attack iran nuclear facilities,ahmadi nejad is a sucidebomber and he wants to wipe israel off the map and do not care if israel do the same in ritaliation,just like sucide bomber and this time the bomb is nuclear !! Time is short we support israel and U.S

I'm an iranian and support israel if attack iran and help us to get rid of our dictators.

Just puke it out, no need for superfluous skullduggery - ...attacks on the jewish state would be countered with appropriate response. You got them, you want the whole world to know you have them, nukes, repeat after me, nukilar bombs. Were you childishly inviting a query on your intended meaning? Can't be, they say Israelis are reasonably smart - clearly without you Israelis would be really smart!

But your delivery is still lacking, what can I call it, AAH, UMPH, that's it! Neither Orwellian nor Tarontinian, just mediocre. Work on it and try again please. Don' give up!

Fred, honey, Nothing saddens me more than those who have their heart in the right place but lack the gray cells to operate this organ effectively. Read the article again slowly. Now read it again. In the chess game of strategy, power is what one is willing to use. Iran is trying to place Israel between two dangerous alternatives - act and irk America, or remain passive and appear as a paper tiger. This is a test that surely Israel can withstand, but not without some cost. Such is the price of doing American's dirty work alone. By the way, ironically, the name 'Avigdor'means 'the father of one who established boundaries' for the JEWISH people.

What thou now want to be done to thouselve, thou shall not do to another. Something like that? Maybe Israel does not accept the threat of direct destruction of her population, but Hezbollah and Lebanon have decided they will not accept actual direct destruction anymore of their population, Certainly not for an attack on a few soldiers. Please consider the arrogance and inherent believe of your superiority that shows in your comment, when it comes to what Israel may not accept and what others have to endure.

supplier should it start a war on Israel

Johnboy, you are ignorant. I have a homework asignment. Look up Operation Opera where in a similar situation, Israel knocked out the Nuclear power of Iraq and Sadam preemptively. But therein lies the problem. If we know the history, Iran sure as hell does. This has trap written all over it. Iran is bating an attack and probably hoping that it happens. What is scary is that such a show of Nuclear potential could be used as a political weapon when the literal fate of the world will hang in the balance of any strike that is carried out. This is a precursor to War. No doubts about it. But the big Bear of the United States is not going to sit back and watch Iran flex its Nuclear muscles either. The time for diplomacy regarding Nuclear weapons in the middle easy is fast aproaching its end.

You are right, Iran is engaged, engaged in a battle against America. Iran is not cooperating with america in any shape or form. Afghanistan you say? Uh just this morning Iran blasted America's and the other Nato forces about trying to get rid of the taliban in Afghan, now how is that helping? Latin America, the only person who is on good terms with iran is the anti-american Hugo Chavez the pig and the anti-american brazilian president. Key word Anti-American. You should go work for Amnesty international you like them are very good at propogating against israel.

Youve got a couple of assumptions wrong there: 1) A republican may not ein in 2012 2) What makes you think a republican president would green light an attack oo Iran, even mad dog Bush baulked at that one. But if by 'solid candidate' you mean 'complete lunatic' i.e. sarah palin you may unfortunately be correct

What they fear most is a direct strike on their motherland that would disintegrate before their very eyes their proud nuclear setting and crown Caliphate jewels that they've been crafting and buffing to perfection and self-sufficiency for almost 30 years for the world to behold and admire. It would take many years to rebuild and that's without any subsequent strikes on their facilities. The colossal national shock of the strike and their expensive losses would be a hundred times the stunned impact that eye witnesses experienced back in June 7, 1981 when seeing waves of unknown warplanes coming in overhead for their bombing runs with ground-penetrating ordnance that reduced Saddam's phallic symbol to floating dust in mere minutes. Iran is doing all it can to huff up its proxies along Israel's borders to deter the IDF.

The last part is interesting, the author/analyst claims that the ball is in Israel's court. Really? I think Israeli government has brain washed their citizens to think that they are capable of hitting and attacking anyone that they perceive as a possible threat. The game has changed when Israel began to openly threaten Iran with a preemptive strike. It won't work like that with Iran, the country that has saved the Jews three times in the past history. We invented chess and know the game of politics, and Iranian generals are not your usual suspects of shoeless Hamas or small and tiny Hezbullah. I suggest to all Israelis to wake and stop dreaming. Israel is like many other small countries in the world, not too important and if she wants to remain relevant, then must act like a normal country. Otherwise the regime will collapse by itself, as we are witnessing the weakening of it already. Wake up and begin to behave or you might ask for a problem that will not be solved that easily.

israel is behaving like goliath , it is accumulating enemies near and far and from inside .why not search for true peace with adversaries instead of threats and finger on trigger . others also have fingers on trigger .if war breaks out , it,s going to be catastrophic for all warring factions : israelis,arabs,iranians and also americans .people of middle-east should be serious about achieving peace before the huge fire consumes the region .

iran's strategy of indiscriminate rocket attacks on the jewish state would be countered with appropriate response. israel would never accept that her population be threatened with direct destruction.

1.they feel confident that USA or Israel would not attack it. 2.They have enough enriched uranium 3.they already have a nuke 4.they are daring Israel to attack it 5.they are saying they are trasparent 6.they are trying to discredit Israel or all of the above

What is it that the mullahs and iran want? Just to stir up mischief isn't it...perhaps it's to dominate the MidEast as they dominate Lebanon? When Iran is nuclear, and the US won't do a thing to stop them, who then will stop them from asserting control over all of the area and the oil? Nobody. Iran can take more nuclear hits than Israel can, so there it's a matter of time. It seems that the Persian moon is ascending.

If there's one factor that we, Iranians, don't enter in our calculation is Israel. We have more important plans to think about than the tiny and nearly unextistant Israel

Those are just talking points. I don't support the current regime and look forward to a secular Iran. But that doesn't mean you can make up stuff. The Iranian regime is calling for a referendum to allow the indigenous Jews, Christians and Muslims decide on the form of government to replace what they call "the Zionist Regime".It's regime change, just like what Israel and the U.S. want for Iran, and what has already been done in Iraq. What Iran is saying (by the way I disagree with and think it should mind its own business) is not unique at all.

The premise of this article is that Iran, to entice an attack upon it by Israel, has taken an action which otherwise would threaten the entire premise that Iran has a nuclear weapons program. Iran announce to the IAEA that it would, and then it did, transfer Uranium Hexfloride - it's entire supply of enriched UF6 from the Natanz Enrichment plant to the Pilot Plant. In an entirely open and supervised action, this was accomplished. Israel - AS A MEMBER OF THE IAEA was TOTALLY aware of the operation and it's supervision. Where is the basis for this plot so vast to taunt or lure Israel? There is none. Get over it folks. Yes, Iran put it's entire supply of low enriched Uranium at risk. But it did it for an announced, clear and necessary reason. It isn't about 'taunting' Israel. It's about having the TRR able to produce the neutrons necessary to produce medical and industrial isotopes. Something Iran is willing to risk all it has produced to achieve. If it can. . .

Respect all UN Resolutions, including the ones agaist Israel, and maybe you can approach the UN to respect your opinions.

"On February 14, in the presence of IAEA inspectors, Iran moved nearly all its stockpile of low-enriched nuclear fuel to an above-ground plant that Tehran declared will be used to re-enrich the fuel to 20 percent purity." - Avigdor Haselkorn There is NO mystery at all. The whole operation was naked to the world as was it's motivation, intention and execution. "U.S. analysts, it was reported, have offered a number of theories for the baffling move ranging from baiting Israel to strike,. . ." - ibid What is Avigdor smoking? "By threatening to turn its entire uranium stockpile into near-bomb-grade fuel Tehran hopes to force the United States to reopen negotiations on its terms. " - ibidy bobbity boo Uranium 19.8% enriched meets the ASTM Standard C1462-02 for fuel of Tehran Research Reactor but is not 'near-bomb-grade' and the assertion discredits the author. Bomb grade (what people who have a clue what they are talking about call "Weapons Grade") is over 85%.

Israel doesn't have to fear American politicians. After all, some weeks ago Ha'aretz reported that Democrat politicians get 40% of their funding from Jews: are they going to risk that funding by taking any action against Israel? What Israel has to fear is the reaction of the American people if an attack on Iran leads to an oil shortage so that huge increases in the price of gasoline are seen in the US. Israel's politicians will make a grave mistake if they take into account only the concerns of American politicians when making decisions on an Iran attack.

Mr Hazelcorn is partially right.One think he has failed to notice that israel still says that all options are on the table.In the unlikely event that a strike becomes necessary on Iran then this is best done as a total surprise rayther than in a politically charged atmosphere.

How about we apply severe, crippling and immediate sanctions on Israel for the numerous invasions, human rights violations, serial violations of UN resolutions etc? The sanctions should look like what was imposed on Iraq, in order to "encourage" Israel towards exhibiting honesty in their peace process. How come it's so easy talk when it comes to killing millions of Muslims and just downright "impossible" when it comes to Israel for violations a WHOLE LOT more serious?

Iran is engaged with President Obama in many key areas. Afghanistan, Iraq, the Kurds, even in Latin America. Their cooperation and help far exceed Israel's value. And they are not parasites. Does Israel get the message yet? Shape up. Quit starting wars and stop with the endless threats and hand-wringing. Peace. Salaam/Shalom

I wonder why BUsh, Cheney,Wolfowitz,Rumsfeld,Rove didnt attack Iran, despite these biggest war mongers and fanatic evangelist christian born again rightists (except wolfowitz,zionist jew) being at the peak of their power. And why didnt war loving Ehud Olmert do anything during his war loving term? Did he find Gaza and Lebanon too much for one term? Im personally convinced that Israel with US assistance can carry out an attack.I dont believe it will end the nuclear program but they (Israel with US help) certainly have the capability of flying there and managing to drop some heavy stuff. Its a mystery question why Israel didnt attack since 2003 when they had the perfect Israel lovers in the White House and weaker Iranian defences.

PW: "The uranium being placed in the open is just another taunt from Iran." Peter, the uranium was enriched to 5% at one enrichment plant. To enrich it to 20% means moving it to another enrichment plant. Those two plants are not connected by a tunnel. Knowing all that, perhaps you can explain to me how the Iranians can get their shit from (A) to (B) without bringing it up to the surface? Iran is taunting Israel with this stuff, Peter? Or maybe Iran simply doesn't give a shit about Israeli sensibilities? I wonder which possibility is more distressing for you? The latter, I suspect, rather than the former....

If any chance for peace is left it must be used right now. If Iran Syria Lebanon and Palastinian Hamas seek to finalize the distruction of Israel, It is only just for Israel to defend Herself. If there will be blood it will run all over middle east and spread to the world. There will be no winners but only losers.

Iran moves its uranium above ground.... They're teasing us! They are taunting us! They're daring us to attack! They are convinced we're too scared! How about an alternative i.e. they moved the stuff above ground because they needed to move it from ONE enriching facility to ANOTHER enriching facility and, you know, bringing it to the surface is a hellova' lot easier than digging a tunnel between the two. And they did that without giving much thought at all to how a paranoid little zionist regime would react to that move. Watching a headless chicken running around the backyard is amusing at first, but it quickly becomes tedious and repetitive.... ... after all, you know that eventually it'll just flop to the ground and give up the ghost....

I don't think this is a matter of Obama vs the Republicans. Why didn't Bush attack Iran? His administration talked about it daily from 2003 but in the end did nothing. Why would 2012 be different? Of course they will talk a good game to rally their base, but in the end, will do as Bush did and as Obama is doing. Nothing, but do nothing loudly. Bottom line is it simply is terrible for US interests to fight a war with Iran. Doesn't matter who is president.

I love the term Zionists. It makes me laugh. Iranian government is pushing for war, They are forcing a war decision on all around them, they are the ones who are claiming "death to ...." and that?s anyone who disagrees with them. They are sending suicide bombers everywhere, They are developing the missiles and bombs to eradicate Israel and whoever isn't radical Islamic drones. If you mean the end of the world by Zionists, we are not, you obviously are.

The Rules of Engagement are unfair. Barbarians that launch missiles from buildings knowingly populated with civilians vs. overwhelming, though generally restrained, firepower. I hope that the human shields that live near Israel know that should Israel feel itself mortally threatened, the usual civility that Tel Aviv has shown will be discarded in favour of an effective (and devastating) response. And it is the government of Iran that will (should) bear the moral responsibility of the death of hundreds of thousands of Muslims once that righteous fury finally descends upon the short-sighted and hate-filled proponents of the eradication of the state of Israel.

You said"but what would you expect from a Muslim from Yale" what difference is that than saying what most say "what would you expect from a Jew from Harvard" Or from a "jew" in general.

is that after 7 long threat-filled years of Israeli bombast and saber-rattling, Iran is no doubt waiting for you. Tucked-in, confident, prepared, and WAITING for you. And because you will have struck the first blow, all the terrible and uncertain fates that await thereafter will be fair payment for such a monumentally criminal act. It will be the 2010 version of Pandora's box, that only a fool would dare to open. Mr. Obama and his military advisers know this, and are greatly sobered by it. But perhaps Israel's great hubris and unlimited arrogance will give it strength to crack the lid and gaze upon all the horribles that lie inside.

"but then what would you expect coming from a muslim from Yale." -Fred- That is a 100% racist remark Fred and makes clear what you are. Change the word Muslim into Jew and what would you call that? Right!

Simple as that, Israel retaliates with nuclear response on it's civilian population, a rule of engagement that permits hydrogen or nuclear response to an attack on one own's population. An eye for an eye in Islam or whatever you can call it, in any other religion,

Your article lost all credibility when you describe enriching uranium to 20% for medical purposes as "near-bomb-grade fuel" "By threatening to turn its entire uranium stockpile into near-bomb-grade fuel Tehran hopes to force the United States to reopen negotiations on its terms."

The uranium being placed in the open is just another taunt from Iran. Added to the military buildup along Israel's borders this is just more pressure from the Iranian regime. They are the street gang trashing the neighborhood in order to invite a response. Expect more of it. Iran is the only nation member of the UN with a declared intention to get rid of another member.

there is a twofold reason for the tactic: 1) to garner the immediate respect and adoration of all who bear witness to such an act of courage, and 2) to belittle, disorient and confuse the maddened bull; and in doing so, it's great raw power is stymied, and it is easily (and unwittingly) maneuvered into the matador's killing zone. But this takes immense skill, courage and (most of all) FOREthought. It is not something a typical matador (or even a typical Arab) could do ... but then, this is the Islamic Republic of Iran that the Zionist bull is now facing.

but then what would you expect coming from a muslim from Yale. try; Israel is Respected for their efforts of maintaining a civilized recourse and leading a strong residue of Courage. Courage cokmes from taking the slap in the face as what comes around goes around ten times fold. iran is blowing up bridges around the free World and will get its comings not today dear Avigdor but one day in the near future as countries that normally do buisness are Slamming the Door on Iranians

hitting a bunch of low enriched uranium is not going to stop iran from making more uranium. israel would need to seriously damage a site of manufacturing. right now, sanctions are ok. Barack obama is not going to be around forever, and if the iranians can be held back by sanctions until, perhaps, the republicans win back the white house in 2012, (assuming they pick a solid candidate), then things will be a lot different.

Nasrallah practicaly stood on the Israeli lebanese border and declared that israel is weaker than a spider web. He is credited even by Israeli leaders to be highly truthful and delivering of his promises. The fact that Israel has talked up a storm about attacking Iran and didn't when the opportunity presented itself on a silver platter means it truly is incapable of anymore adventures in the middle east. Hezbollah Iran and Syria have changed the equation. The once iron wrath of Israel is now as threatening as a spider web in the corner of your house. Plus one to Nasrallah.

Israel has them. Iran wants them. So let them. I am not a support of Iran or Ahmdj, but if we want a nuclear free Middle - East, then Israel?s weapons will have to go.