Remember in the days of the former Howard Government the Washington Republican tales about the Iranians will produce a bomb that threatens Israel's very existence, and that the Iranians had to be stopped at all cost by the US because Iran is one of the greatest threats in the world today. This was the justification the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war against Iran, the building of an an international consensus, led by the US and the UN Security Council decreeing sanctions against Tehran.

Well, there has been a U-turn in American intelligence.The American intelligence community, comprising 16 different agencies, has reached an unanimous verdict in the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran: already in 2003, the Iranians terminated their efforts to produce a nuclear bomb, and they have not resumed them since. Even if they change their mind in the future, they will need at least five years to achieve their aim.

Martin Rowson

It may be the case that Tehran was no longer developing nuclear weapons, but that hasn't changed the views of Bush and Cheney towards Iran; or Israel for that matter. Yet the possibility of an independent Israeli military strike against Iran has vanished and Israel cannot wage war without the unreserved backing of the US. And that backing is no longer guaranteed by Washington.