Israeli Brigadier-General Uzi Eilam denies Iran is nuclear threat and says that even if Iran had nuclear capabilities a unilateral attack would not be practical.

A general who was once in charge of Israel’s nuclear weapons has claimed that Iran is a “very, very, very long way from building a nuclear capability”.

Brigadier-General Uzi Eilam, 75, a war hero and pillar of the defence establishment, believes it will probably take Iran seven years to make nuclear weapons.

In all honesty, it is impossible for the general public to make a determination about how close Iran is to producing nuclear weapons. Most official western sources suggest Iran is mere months or at most, a year away. Other sources, like General Uzi Eilam and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin say it’s not likely. Whatever the case may be, the Israelis seem to be dead set on either getting the US involved, or going it alone:

According to well-placed defence sources, Israel is speeding up preparations for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear sites. Last week its defence forces released footage that showed training to refuel F-15 jet fighters in mid-air. “This was a warning not to Iran but to the Americans that we’re serious,” said an Israeli defence source.

But Eilam argues “such an attack [against Iran] would be counter-productive”.

“One strike is not practical. In order to delay the Iranian programme for three to four years, one needs an armada of aircraft, which only a super-power can provide. Only America can do it.”

All signs are pointing to the likely end result here as a strike on Iran by the Israeli military. Unless of course they’re bluffing. But remember, they didn’t bluff  in 1981. Back in ’81, though, the Israelis had indirect support from the United States after the strike (and probably before it).

Does Israel have the support of the USA this time? Perhaps under the Bush administration they did, but President Obama does not seem to be as close knit with our Jewish ally.

If Israel launches an attack, it’s been suggested that the only way to get to Iran is to fly over US airspace in Iraq. Is President Obama prepared to allow this to happen? And if it does happen, how will it be interpreted by Iran?

If Iran considers this an act of war not just by Israel, but the US as well, we could have military conflict on the Iran/Iraq border very quickly (as in hours).

In this particular scenario, it would seem more advantageous for the United States to join the Israeli attack and preemptively hit Iran in a bilateral action.

It seems that Mr. Obama will have a very difficult decision to make this year on how the US will respond in the event that Israel gives its military a ‘go’.