Military sources in the United States are warning that new revelations on the extent of Iran's nuclear programme may provide the impetus for an Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities. Yesterday President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed that Iran is presently operating around 3000 cascading Uranium centrifuges, a fact that has now been confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Intelligence experts believe that 3000 centrifuges would produce enough Uranium for Iran to manufacture an atomic weapon by 2009.  Ahmadinejad also announced that Iran was planning to install 54,000 centrifuges at its nuclear facility in Natanz. US analysts have said America will hold off on any strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, but could not guarantee that Israel would not.

Quote: "The British paper quoted military sources in the US capital as saying that the figure presented by Ahmadinejad could be the "tipping point" that touches off an IAF strike. Washington was reluctant to go forward with a strike against Iran, but Israel was a "different matter," the officials said. Even before the Iranian president's announcement US defense officials told the Times that "Israel could do something when they get to around 3,000 working centrifuges. The Pentagon is minded to wait a little longer." Concern over an Israeli strike has been "heightened" following the September 6 strike on a target suspected to belong to a Syrian nuclear program, the paper said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Mark Regev has accused the IAEA of foot-dragging, and its chief Mohammed ElBaradei of playing into Iranian hands. A few months ago Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also accused the ElBaradei of not doing enough to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. 

Quote:  ""If ElBaradei thinks that an Iranian bomb in three years time does not bother him, it certainly worries me, even extremely," Olmert said in France. "It would be better if ElBaradei made an effort to prevent them from obtaining a bomb." ElBaradei said in an interview with France's Le Monde newspaper that Iran would need "between three and eight years" to develop a nuclear bomb and that there were was no immediate threat. "I want to get people away from the idea that Iran represents a clear and present danger and that we're now facing the decision whether to bombard Iran or let them have the bomb. We're not in that situation at all," he said.

As I have said before, while the Iranian President has stated publicly that Iran is not seeking to attack any country, Iran's leaders do not recognize Israel as a country. President Ahmadinejad has also repeatedly called for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map", most recently at an address to the United Nations. Iran's quarrel is with Israel alone. Former Iranian Ayatollah's have boasted that it would only take one nuclear device to destroy Israel, while any retaliatory response from Israel would cause limited damage due to Iran's geographical size. The threat has been made, only Iran presently lacks the means to carry it out. Clearly the diplomatic option will fail, because Ahmadinejad is determined to bring about world chaos to hasten the coming of the Islamic Mahdi. Praise God that we are not waiting for the coming of the Mahdi. We serve the Living and True God, and wait for His Son from Heaven, who has already delivered us from the wrath to come. Have you trusted in Him? He waits for you.

1st Thessalonians 1:8-10
For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Source Times Online, Jerusalem Post, France24

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