The era of innocence is over. There is no more talk of an "electricity production project" or "research for medical purposes." There are no more denials, excuses or explanations, no more foot-dragging or shutting our eyes. From here on out, the world knows that there is only one obvious truth: Iran is developing nuclear weapons, period. There are no happy tidings in this message. If we really want to take pride in ourselves, which we can barely do as it is, we can say that at least our intelligence agencies already have their fingers on the Iranian nuclear heartbeat. We've screamed all along that this was Iran's plan, evidenced by all their facilities and programs. Most of the time, the world didn't want to hear it, especially with respect to the conclusions it would have to draw. On Tuesday night, we heard the bitter voices of Israeli spokespeople, whom we won't quote here. "We were right," we said, in just one little phrase that included within it more sadness and irony than happiness and victory. This is because this victory didn't happen last night in Vienna. The capital of the waltz and the strudel provided the audience on Tuesday night for a play in which the masks were ripped off the scoundrels faces. It was not a knockout, but rather a full disclosure to the international audience so they would finally understand what Israel has been talking about for so long. Not only is it important to separate the truth from the lie, but also to create a uniform infrastructure for discussions of what the upcoming scenes in this unfolding drama might be. In order to prevent this drama from turning into a tragedy, we need a clear and determined international effort that seriously hurts Iran and forces it to confront the horns of the dilemma. We are talking about meaningful sanctions to damage Iran's banking-economic-commercial system, with an emphasis on money and crude oil. In the optimal situation, this will cause the Iranian people to rise up against their leaders. Realistically, the Iranian regime might be forced to take full or partial steps to halt the project even before all the sanctions are implemented. As sanctions approach, Iran will threaten the world, incite Russia and China, and try every trick in the book, including the possibility of heating up Israel's southern front. Anything to delay the harsh decree. Meanwhile, the Americans are in the midst of a test of leadership and the president needs some international achievements during the upcoming election year. Israel will wait on the side and continue to emphasize that all options are on the table. Despite the obvious threat, Israel is not the focus of the story right now. Iran has reached a moment of truth in front of the entire world. Lots of good people against one evil person, and the tiny hope that the chatter in Vienna on Tuesday night will pave a way, despite everything, to prevent the nightmarish scenario of a nuclear Iran.
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