A collision course with Iran?

Are we on the verge of war with Iran? The Guardian’s frontpage today suggests we might well be. Here’s a taster of the article:

“Britain’s armed forces are stepping up their contingency planning for potential military action against Iran amid mounting concern about Tehran’s nuclear enrichment programme, the Guardian has learned. The Ministry of Defence believes the US may decide to fast-forward plans for targeted missile strikes at some key Iranian facilities. British officials say that if Washington presses ahead it will seek, and receive, UK military help for any mission, despite some deep reservations within the coalition government. In anticipation of a potential attack, British military planners are examining where best to deploy Royal Navy ships and submarines equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles over the coming months as part of what would be an air and sea campaign.”

The Guardian says the catalyst could be a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) due next week, “whcih is expected to provide fresh evidence of a possible nuclear weapons programme in Iran”. They cite a Whitehall source saying that “within the next 12 months Iran may have hidden all the material it needs to continue a covert weapons programme inside fortified bunkers”, meaning that the US – and the UK – could need to take action before then.

However, in a Time magazine article, Tony Karon says the IAEA report may not be the “game changer” the Guardian claims:

“It wouldn’t be the first time the U.S. had assumed that some new ‘gotcha’ piece of intelligence would change the game, only to be disappointed.”

“The US has unfortunately lost its wisdom and prudence in dealing with international issues. It only depends on power. Of course we are prepared for the worst, but we hope that they think twice before they put themselves on a collision course with Iran.”