Bombing Iran: Osirak and Beyond -Analysis - News - Views and Statistics: A Special Report

Tehran denies that it has military ambitions for its nuclear activities and it has pledged to continue its nuclear pursuits. The Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv said time is running out to deal with Iran. "Iran's drive for regional hegemony is reflected primarily by its uncompromising efforts to achieve a military nuclear capability," the INSS (formerly the Jaffe Center for Strategic Studies) concluded in its annual report released in Jan-2007 "Despite the growing concern within the international community, the INSS questions whether effective sanctions will be imposed. Time is working in Iran's favour, and barring military action, Iran's possession of nuclear weapons is only a matter of time." Dr. Zvi Shtauber, director of the INSS, noted that the international community continues to reject the use of force. They are hoping some miracle will happen and it won't be necessary, he said. But, "at the end of the road," the international community will discover that "nothing helps," Shtauber told Cybercast News Service. When a country [like Iran] has money, scientific know-how and determination, it is very hard to stop them, said Shtauber, a former Israeli ambassador to Britain and former head of strategic planning in the Israeli army. Shtauber said that however "momentous" the decision may be to attack Iran, the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran is far worse.