The international community and Iran have recently completed an agreement to regulate Iran’s development and usage of nuclear energy. The assumption is that this agreement has been reached before Iran was able to manufacture a nuclear weapon. Putting aside the question as to whether Iran has or does not have a nuclear weapon, the question is whether Iran would utilize the weapon against Israel if it had one.
The most obvious answer supported by the statements of the Iranian leadership is that the Iranian military would in fact be ready to use it. After all, they have continuously called for the destruction of Israel. But then the question is, why haven’t they launched a more conventional or unconventional attack on Israel up to now?
Perhaps it is because they fear a military reprisal by Israel that would reduce their infrastructure to rubble, an attack from which they would be unable to recover from for decades at minimum. But if that was the reason they held back from an attack, wouldn't they expect the same result if they launched a nuclear attack against Israel?
And if the Iranian leadership is guided by a Messianic belief that war would bring them to the end of days, wouldn’t they engage in this disastrous war with Israel, whether they went nuclear or not?
Iran might very well be waiting to launch a war once they have attained a nuclear weapon, but wouldn’t the outcome be the same destruction of Iran by Israel?
In other words, if Iran has not initiated a war with Israel up to now, knowing that it would assure their destruction as a nation, then why would they start a war just because they have a nuclear weapon?
If Iran does not want a reprisal from Israel that would destroy the foundations of their country, then why would their military ever use a nuclear weapon against Israel?
The difference is that up to now if Iran declared war against Israel, the response by Israel would be severe, but limited. While the Israeli military would destroy Iranian military assets it would not target civilian populations. But in order for the Messianic period according to Iranian clerics to begin they would need to create an “end of days” type of scenario.
The Iranian clerics know that if they launched a nuclear weapon against Israel, or any nuclear capable country, the response would be a nuclear one, creating a level of war that they believe would usher in their “final days” prophecy.
It is for this reason that it is incumbent upon the international community to ensure that nuclear energy development in Iran immediately be rescinded.