The report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency regarding Iran’s nuclear program simply confirms what Israel has been saying for years. Iran is rapidly approaching nuclear independence, far ahead of American and other intelligence reports but in line with warnings by Jerusalem, warnings that over recent years have all but fallen on deaf ears.

In actuality, the report is an embarrassment to Western intelligence when one considers the threat and measures it against the meager sanctions that have been imposed; a gesture at best, one that has done little or nothing to deter Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from building an atom bomb. What has changed, perhaps, is the fact that now; the ominous report is coming from a United Nations agency, not Israel.

According to some analysts, the war drums are beating while other warn and Israeli military strike could spark an international incident, regional instability at best and World War III at worst. Ahmadinejad however remains undeterred, shunning all warnings and countering with stronger threats against Israel, the US and the West.

In Israel, the cabinet is under strict instructions from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, not to respond in the media to the IAEA report. Clearly the cabinet is divided, evident by the statements released to the media over recent weeks. Whatever the case, in Jerusalem and Washington, officials are undoubtedly in contact, monitoring what is rapidly becoming a volatile situation, one that may compel real international intervention.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)