And once again the architects of a possible attack appear to be the U.S. administration's neoconservatives, the same people behind the setting of the stage prior to and the successful delivery of the attack on Iraq.

But Moshe Ma'oz an Israeli Professor Emeritus of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and Senior Fellow at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, told The Middle East Times that any attack on Iran would be an "absolute disaster."

"I doubt very much that Iran will attack first. All the Iranians need to do is close the Gulf of Hormuz and thereby threaten the West's supply of oil if they want to flex their muscles. They will not strike first but if attacked their ability to retaliate on a significant scale is worrying," explained Ma'oz.

Ma'oz further argued that in retrospect there is some logic to Iran wanting to develop its own nuclear program.

"Iran was subject to the unprovoked attack by Iraq during the Iran-Iraq conflagration of the 1980s. Additionally the Islamic republic has grounds to argue self-defense, fearing a pending attack by either Israel or the United States or perhaps a combination," said Ma'oz.

It is also highly unlikely that a nuclear armed country would be attacked due the high probability of retaliation on an unprecedented level ensuring mutual destruction to varying degrees.

This simple logic explains why Israel and the United States both have sizeable nuclear arsenals and why neither country has any intention of giving them up.

Furthermore, despite the fact there is a growing Iranian opposition movement which has called for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's overthrow, in light of his serious mishandling of the country's economy, among other issues, he is virtually assured of their support and the support of the majority of Iranians in the event of a possible attack on the country.

Prior to Ahmadinejad's rise to power, his predecessor Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani had called for the resumption of peace talks with the United States but U.S. President George W. Bush declined these and instead labeled Iran part of the Axis of Evil, along with North Korea and Syria.

Analysts argue that this was fundamental in helping Teheran's hardliners and de-facto power-brokers, led by Iranian spiritual adviser Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, secure Ahmadinejad into the presidential seat.

However, even if Israel does strike, the chances of it successfully eliminating Iran's alleged nuclear program is highly questionable with experts arguing that at best an attack would delay or minimize said program only.

Much of Iran's nuclear program's infrastructure is buried under earth and concrete and installed in long tunnels or hallways, making precise targeting difficult. There is also concern that not all of the facilities have been detected.

To inflict maximum damage, multiple attacks might be necessary, which may be beyond Israel's ability at this time. Additionally, an attack by Israel would very possibly require American involvement logistically and militarily, and the United States has already committed itself to this scenario.

Even if nuclear targets were precisely targeted and destroyed it would only be a matter of time before a highly-motivated Iran reconstituted its nuclear program and made it even harder for the United States to locate the new facilities and destroy them.

This is precisely what happened when Israel attacked Iraq's Osiraq facility in 1981. Following the attack Iraqi President Saddam Hussein accelerated and dispersed his program, making it harder for U.N. weapons inspection teams to determine and locate facility sites.

Furthermore, besides Iran's rumored budding nuclear capabilities the Islamic theocracy has a well developed defensive missile system capable of hitting both Israel and U.S. bases in Amman, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq.

Missiles at Iran's disposal include the Shahab-3, Fecr-3 MIRV and 1,200-mile range Ashura missiles. Additionally Iran is capable of delivering mid-and long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles both with solid and liquid propellants.

Besides massive retaliation, Iran could and would make life harder for the Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan where the American military is fighting wars that it has been unable to win.

Iran is well-positioned to cause serious trouble for the United States in both places as it shares a border with Afghanistan as well as Iraq, and has allies in each country that it could arm and train to strike at the American military.

As the Iraq Study Group pointed out in December of 2006, the only way to resolve the Afghanistan and Iraq debacles are through negotiations and offering incentives to Iran.

This is what the Bush administration has done with North Korea and Libya with varying degrees of success as both countries were on the verge of developing nuclear programs.