From Haaretz:
Israel would be wise to listen to Obama's advice on Iran (click title to entry - thank you)
Israel would do well to internalize an important statement by Obama: 'As president and commander in chief, I have a deeply-held preference for peace over war.'
U.S. President Barack Obama didn't wait for his private meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to clarify his position on Iran's nuclear program. Speaking at the annual conference of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the U.S. leader urged everyone to set the war drums aside.
After reiterating his commitment to Israel's peace and security, the president made it clear that the United States would consider using military force to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons only after it was convinced that sanctions and other diplomatic tools had been exhausted. He also promised to keep up the pressure on Iran and deepen its isolation....
For real? Attacks into Iran would actually succeed?
Saudi Arabia and Israel are good friends, I am sure the Saudis would not interfere. If I were an Israeli General, now is the best time because all the other countries nearby have no military capacity that can interfere or ally with Iran.
A ground war by Iran would be unrealistic all considering. Non-proliferation has to be the venue. Iran is the place the world turns the corner on nukes. I sincerely believe it contains the opportunity.
It is reasonable to approach Khamenei after these elections to find a way to reduce the Iran's nuclear threat. Khamenei ain't a stupid guy. It is not an Ahmadinejad. He doesn't stop annihilation of Israel. I really think there is a strong possibility for sanctions to work and any improvement in Iran's economy would be a welcome relief. I am sure Khamenei, especially after the riots, see Ahmadinejad as ineffective and too extreme.
UPDATE 1-Khamenei allies trounce Ahmadinejad in Iran election (click here)
By Parisa Hafezi and Hashem Kalantari
TEHRAN, March 4 (Reuters) - Clerical Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has tightened his grip on Iran's faction-ridden politics after loyalists won over 75 percent of seats in parliamentary elections at the expense of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a near-complete count showed.
The widespread defeat of Ahmadinejad supporters - including his sister, Parvin Ahmadinejad - is expected to reduce the president to a lame duck after he sowed divisions by challenging the utmost authority of Khamenei in the governing hierarchy.
The outcome of Friday's vote, essentially a contest between conservative hardline factions with reformist leaders under house arrest, will have no big impact on Iranian foreign policy, notably its nuclear stand-off with the West. But it will boost Khamenei's influence in next year's presidential election.
With 90 percent of ballot boxes counted, Khamenei acolytes were expected to occupy more than three-quarters of the 290 seats in the Majlis (parliament), according to a list published by the interior ministry on Sunday....
