Iran's interests in destroying Israel?

[Chris]

Ok we all know how tense the nuclear situation in the ME is becoming and we all know the positions being taken by the two sides. What I don't entirely understand is what specifically is Iran's motivation for wanting to attack Israel. Is it because of the situation with the Palestinian Arabs? USA-Israel collaboration? Israeli military threat? Iraq?

I can't honestly belive that this is motivated simply by religious fanaticism. Why does Iran care so much about a nation that it shares no common borders with, is miles from, and has no obvious economic interest in?

Specific links to info would be appreciated.

 

[Chris]

Just to clarify, I'm refering to what the interests are of Iran's leadership. Why do they specifically want to wipeout Israel?

 

[Kandahar]

It really is just a combination of religious fanaticism and pure stupidity. For decades, other Muslim countries have blamed Israel for everything so that their people will not become angry at their own governments. Iran foolishly thinks that this will work for them too, but the difference is that Iran has an educated population that can see through this nonsense whereas most Muslim nations don't.

Also, when Iran makes statements like this it is often just to thumb their noses at the United States. They know that we can't do anything about it since we're bogged down in a quagmire in Iraq, and they know that once they get a nuclear weapon that we won't be able to do anything to them.

Are they actually a threat to Israel? It's hard to tell.

 

[Simon W. Moon]

I think a lot of the rhetoric is merely for domestic consumption.

 

[Chris]

Makes sense, the old blame Israel for the problems created by the country's dictators (in this case the mullahs).

 

[Willravel]

We all know what westernization did to Asian culture. Israel represents the foothold of westernization in the Middle East, and many countries fear such a conversion (even though their leadership has already been infected a great deal). Add to that the age old religious and cultural differences and you have a very unstable situation. Israel has had nuclear capability for quite some time now and they have not yet destroyed any arab nation. I suspect that Iran's nuclear program, if it exists at all, has more to do with MAD than fanatical racism or a holy war. I'm curious to see if Iran can start making strong ties to China, in order to pick sides in the upcoming 'war on tyrany' (which is the excuse to go to war with China over the reamining natural resources, maily oil and coal, that will start after the 'war on terror' has finished off the natural resources from countries that are currently tied to terrorism).

 

[Tashah]

One must realize that the president of Iran is merely a delivery vehicle, and the ugly rhetoric that he publicly spews is composed and arranged by the hard-line clerics who rule Iran. Their motivation? That's probably mainfold...

• To make it appear that the 'secular' and religious rulers of Iran speak with one voice and are in agreeance on all matters.
• To nurture an Iranian 'Islamic unity' front against a perceived infidel enemy, even though most Iranians clearly see through this charade.
• To foster the notion that Israel represents a clear and persistent danger to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Muslim Middle East.
• To funnel domestic Iranian disenchantment with Iran's internal state of affairs to a foreign entity.
• An expressed hard-line attitude towards Israel by Iranian Shi'a clerics garners support from many ME authoritarian Sunni regimes.
• It lets the US know that Iran must be respected as a major player in ME politics.
• Blaming Israel for Islamic internal/regional woes has always been popular with all MENA Arab/Muslim dictatorships.
• It is an effort to plant a global seed that Iran requires nuclear-weapons capability to counter Israeli dominance in weaponry and technology.
• A nuclear capability will furnish Iran with a double-edged sword... the threat of WMD to disincline military actions against Iran, and the oil weapon to engender political blackmail.
• The clerics have determined that Iran would survive a nuclear exchange with Israel due to its vastly larger geographic land-mass and a superior population demographic.
• Threats against Israel are considered by the Iranian mullah's as concomitant veiled threats to the United States and the EU.
• Direct threats of violence against Israel can be parlayed by Iran into leverage concerning an eventual Shi'a dominant political disposition of Iraq.
• Iranian threats of Israel's destruction has the effect of reminding Iraq's Shi'a population that Iran is the regional boss-hog who will be there forever while the United States is far away and its occupation of Iraq is transitory.
• Iranian threats against Israel infer that any legitimate Israeli retaliation against future Hamas and Hizb'allah terrorism could be mitigated under the threat of Iranian nuclear intervention.

I could go on, but I think the above will suffice nicely.

 

[Apostle13]

One must realize that the president of Iran is merely a delivery vehicle, and the ugly rhetoric that he publicly spews is composed and arranged by the hard-line clerics who rule Iran. Their motivation? That's probably mainfold...

• To make it appear that the 'secular' and religious rulers of Iran speak with one voice and are in agreeance on all matters.
• To nurture an Iranian 'Islamic unity' front against a perceived infidel enemy, even though most Iranians clearly see through this charade.
• To foster the notion that Israel represents a clear and persistent danger to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Muslim Middle East.
• To funnel domestic Iranian disenchantment with Iran's internal state of affairs to a foreign entity.
• An expressed hard-line attitude towards Israel by Iranian Shi'a clerics garners support from many ME authoritarian Sunni regimes.
• It lets the US know that Iran must be respected as a major player in ME politics.
• Blaming Israel for Islamic internal/regional woes has always been popular with all MENA Arab/Muslim dictatorships.
• It is an effort to plant a global seed that Iran requires nuclear-weapons capability to counter Israeli dominance in weaponry and technology.
• A nuclear capability will furnish Iran with a double-edged sword... the threat of WMD to disincline military actions against Iran, and the oil weapon to engender political blackmail.
• The clerics have determined that Iran would survive a nuclear exchange with Israel due to its vastly larger geographic land-mass and a superior population demographic.
• Threats against Israel are considered by the Iranian mullah's as concomitant veiled threats to the United States and the EU.
• Direct threats of violence against Israel can be parlayed by Iran into leverage concerning an eventual Shi'a dominant political disposition of Iraq.
• Iranian threats of Israel's destruction has the effect of reminding Iraq's Shi'a population that Iran is the regional boss-hog who will be there forever while the United States is far away and its occupation of Iraq is transitory.
• Iranian threats against Israel infer that any legitimate Israeli retaliation against future Hamas and Hizb'allah terrorism could be mitigated under the threat of Iranian nuclear intervention.

I could go on, but I think the above will suffice nicely.

...And that is The Big Picture. Thanks Tasha... But please if there is more I'd like to know as most of these are a confirmation of my own rationale..?

 

[JOHNYJ]

The Iranian govt.'s since the overthrow of the Shah .Have been no improvement.
The Shah bad as he might have been was better for more Iranians than the fanatics that are running the country now.
Their fanaticism may bring death and ruin to Iran if she is brought into a war with Israel.

 

[Auftrag]

We should be encouraging Iran to bomb Israel. If the arabs kill the Muslims, then we only have to deal with one enemy. Let them kill each other first, then we can mop up afterwards.

Or, alternatively, just nuke the middle east and have done with it.

 

[vaid]

We should be encouraging Iran to bomb Israel. If the arabs kill the Muslims, then we only have to deal with one enemy. Let them kill each other first, then we can mop up afterwards.

Or, alternatively, just nuke the middle east and have done with it.

What nonsense!

If iran bombs Israel,How then the arabs killed the muslim?:doh

~vaid

 

[vaid]

Honestly, i do not percieve Iran to be a threat atleast in the nearest future!
Maybe after they have sucessfully refined uranium......


A Nuclear Iran can certainly disbalance the military capability in the future.It would give a major material to Iranian mullahs to blackmail the international commmunity.


~vaid

 

[Auftrag]

What nonsense!

If iran bombs Israel,How then the arabs killed the muslim?:doh

~vaid

Obviously I meant jews.

 

[Kandahar]

Honestly, i do not percieve Iran to be a threat atleast in the nearest future!
Maybe after they have sucessfully refined uranium......


A Nuclear Iran can certainly disbalance the military capability in the future.It would give a major material to Iranian mullahs to blackmail the international commmunity.

The mere potential for blackmail in the future shows that they ARE a threat. Iran is anywhere from three months to five years from having a nuclear weapon... thus making "regime change" incredibly more difficult than it is now.

And unlike our past and present nuclear-armed enemies - the Soviet Union, Maoist China, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and (to a lesser extent) even North Korea - we cannot expect Iran to act in any rational manner with nuclear weapons. The people in charge are absolutely insane and are not afraid of self-destruction if they can wipe out Israel.

 

[Australianlibertarian]

I don't know about absolutely insane.

I just believe that they use religion to manipulate and control the Iranian masses.

I reckon that the Iranian regime is investing in nukes as insurance against outside threats.

Think about it this way. If Iraq can be invaded, why not Iran? So the leaders in Iran are trying to get themselves some nice shiny weapons of mass destruction to act as an insurance policy against America.

But i reckon that the best thing to do, is let Iran rot from the inside. The country has a large, young, educated population, eventually the Islamic regime will crumble just like the Soviet Union. Without the shed of any U.S soldier's blood.

Besides if things do get to hot in Iran, you can trust the Israeli's to shoot first and ask questions later.

Israel won't let Iran have nuclear facilities, period. :twocents:

 

[Tashah]

Besides if things do get to hot in Iran, you can trust the Israeli's to shoot first and ask questions later.

Although the direct threat is against Israel, this is an international issue best resolved via diplomacy.

Israel won't let Iran have nuclear facilities, period.

As I have pointed out many times, the only country with the military capacity to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities is the United States. The target universe (300+), geographical distance (refueling), and duration of preemption (at least a week) are beyond the scope of the IDF or anyone else.