IRAN

Washingtonpost: Target Iran: How Likely Is a U.S. First Strike?

As President Bush embarks on his second term in office, "the world already has a clue [as] to what to expect from his foreign policy over the next few years," says a leading German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung (in German): "Iran, Iran, Iran."
Online commentators from London to Tehran to Tel Aviv agree. Many say the possibility of military conflict between the United States and Iran, which Washington believes seeks to develop nuclear weapons, is now growing. While verbal warfare between Washington and Tehran is nothing new, international pundits point to a number of recent developments, large and small, that suggest rhetorical bombshells could give way to the real thing.