Iran again.

[nedflanders]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4384264.stm

Looks like WWIII could be on the cards soon then? Opinions please.

[january_bug]

Have they got nuclear weapons, or are they just trying to develop them?

Either way, I get the nasty feeling that if we poke this particular wasps' nest, we'll get attacked here in the UK. Hopefully this is not how Blair wants to end his "reign", not the legacy he wants to leave... and thus we might keep our noses out.

I belive Iran to be a pretty dodgy country, but I think that we actually need the politicians' attention to be better focused on the UK at the moment, after years of considerable concern for foreign affairs. If Iran is no direct threat to us at the moment, then I hope to goodness that we just decide to leave well alone.

[Dom Tuk]

Jan Bug, you say that ' I belive (sic) Iran to be a pretty dodgy country'.....You are welcome to your views about Iran, a country with a culture and civilisation that developed and flourished when the ancestors in this country were living in caves. I daresay the Iranian people have a very high regard for the UK and its policies.

[january_bug]

I'm sure they don't Dom Tuk!

I haven't read much about it (and thanks for picking up on my typo by the way, I hadn't spotted it before! :-) ) and specifically said "I belive (sic)" because I'm basing that on snippits I've heard on the news. Unlike some ABers though, I will actually read into it properly before forming a firmer opinion.

Anyway, aside from posting to dig at me, what are your views on the matter?

[nedflanders]

Yes Dom answer the Question please instead of digging up buggy for her stating her honest opinion.

[january_bug]

Cheers ned! :-)

[ianess]

If we lived where they live, and we were taught what they are taught, then surely we would believe what they believe.
Who really knows what the truth is?
As usual God will be on the side which has the biggest gun. And it will degenerate into a battle over oil reserves. A major fall-out [if you'd pardon the use of that expression] with Iran has been on the cards for a long time.

[surfer mike]

This calls for careful diplomacy on everyones part..but it does not help when the iranian leader talks like a terrorist..

its funny how theres hardly a murmour of outrage at his call for israel to be wiped off the map..

Typical..if it was the other way round and it was sharon...making the bloodthirsty call. you can bet with certainty the usual arabists, knightsbridge liberal types and the anti american anti israel lobby would be in uproar with self righteous pious indignation, and would be calling for all kinds of things to be done to israel..

[Dom Tuk]

As regards the Iranian PMs statement it is entirely disgusting and should be roundly crticised. It is beyond belief that the Iranian leader gave this moral ammunition to the US and western media at a time when things were hotting up with realtion to his country. But a few points to remember. He was speaking at a convention whose aim was to remove the Zionists from the region....so he was hardly likely to be talking moderation was he.Furthermore would his speech even have made the middle pages if he had given it lets say 4 years ago? Do you propose to punish innocent people of Iran for what he has said?

Now to the issue of Iranian nuclear ambitions. If they have ambitions to build a nulear weapon why are we afraid that the playing field then becomes level. Why should we have the big guns and not them? Are we so supeior to them and they so inferior that they will not know how to restrain themselves. Or is there centuries of injustices that require addressing??

[january_bug]

Dom Tuk - WHO are you arguing with!?! Yuorself it would seem - no-one here has posted in favour of declaring war on Iran, or in fact any sort of military action!!! Do you read what I say anymore, or just disagree cos it's me!? As least show some senility with others, even if you won't with me!

[january_bug]

Ok, VERY unfortunate typo... I meant "sanity" not "senility" - wooops! :-)

[Dom Tuk]

As you can see jan bug i am merely stating an opinion on what could be construed as the reasons why a war against Iran could be justified. No one has stated on this thread those reasons, but they are in the public, mdia and other domains including other threads. There is no rule that a posting should only limit itself to responses on that particular thread. I am aware that you would not wish a war and would like to leave them alone. Its a pity that some of the world leaders are not thinking along those lines. Mr Blair has not yet committed himself but his past actions dont fill me with any hope.

[january_bug]

Your style of answer was actually totally adversarial. Instead of just stating your opinion, you asked many questions in a way that seemed as though you thought were were addressing a small child. If you have an opinion (which you always do), why don't you just state it and be done? Ok, so you have NOW, but it took a while.

Honestly, people suggest that I'm always looking for a fight.....

[Chessman]

Just read the previous post, all very interesting, but it would,nt be a level playing field if Iran goes nuclear, purely and simply because they are looking for death,and call for it in pusuit of their goal, a totally different mindset to the west, and I believe, that if they get the bomb, they will use it, regardless of the consequences, and also, not forgetting that their stated aim, (Sharia Law), is to convert, by force or otherwise, the world to their version of Islam.

[surfer mike]

He's an elected president for heaven sake! And as such he should act responsibly..He's just shown why his country should not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons at all costs..It would not surprise me in the slightest that sometime in the future israel will feel compelled to launch air strikes to take out any prospective nuclear facilities, and as such iran will only have themselves to blame.

[Chessman]

In reference to surfer mikes post, apparently Israel has just puchased a load of Block Buster bombs, if true, how long do you think, before the are used?.

[january_bug]

Depends how hard, and how often, Iran will keep poking the beehive. OR, how hard and how often we poke Iran's beehive, to the point that Israel feels we're provoking Iran to take action, and that such action might be taken against Israel.

[Ward-Minter]

With more Jews in New York alone than the whole of Israel, I envisage a quick but bloody battle. We (the West) will win without nukes.