Investigations Find That Iran Was Behind Attacks On Israeli Diplomats

In related news, the sun rose in the east today.

A multinational investigation into bomb plots targeting Israeli diplomats earlier this year has produced the clearest evidence yet that Iran was involved, illustrating the risks to the west if it fails to reach detente with Tehran over its nuclear weapons programme.

Talks on Iran's nuclear aspirations resume in Moscow on Monday, and western intelligence officials have told the Guardian the price of failure could be high. With Israel refusing to rule out military action if diplomacy fails, intelligence officials fear the volley of attacks carried out by Iranian operatives show Tehran is capable of an asymmetric response. Though the officials admit that predictions are extremely difficult to make, their concerns are based on investigations into plots against Israeli diplomats in India, Thailand and Georgia in February which point to the involvement of Iran.

In India, local agencies told ministers a bomb attack which badly injured the wife of the Israeli military attaché in New Delhi in February was the work of an Iranian "security entity". Their conclusions have not previously been made public and Indian officials have made significant efforts to avoid blaming Tehran, an ally and oil supplier.

The governments of Georgia and Thailand, which both uncovered bomb plots on the day of the Delhi attack, have also not officially blamed Iran.

European intelligence officials told the Guardian they now found it difficult to judge Tehran's "risk calculus".

"Until recently it was possible to see why they were doing what they have been doing," one intelligence official said. "Now it has become very unpredictable. It's very hard to see the logic behind [the February bombings], other than perhaps demonstrate an ability to cause problems in the event of war or a desire for revenge of some kind."

At the time, the Iranians were claiming that these attacks were a false flag operation done by the Mossad.

Particularly chuckle worthy were the last two paragraphs, about how intelligence sources now 'find it difficult to judge Tehran's risk calculus' and don't see any logic behind their actions except the desire for revenge and sheer belligerence.

Have these people been living in a cave since 1979?

Iran is a major fomenter, supporter and source of terrorism and had a proven involvement in 9/11. Their terrorist proxy Hezbollah and elements of their Revolutionary Guard have murdered journalists, politicians and heads of state, blown up a harmless Jewish Community center in Buenos Aires and a US Marine barracks in Lebanon, among numerous other 'operations'.And the regime threatens genocide against Israel and an apocalypse against the west in order to bring on the return of the Twelfth Imam on a semi-regular basis.

And these western intelligence figures are just now figuring out that the ayatollahs aren't rational actors?!!? Gosh, who knew?

I will concede one thing. To the extent that these were retaliations for what Tehran considers assassination attempts on its nuclear scientists, these attacks were simply acts of war. But then again, it isn't Israel threatening genocide against Iran, so the actions are hardly morally equivalent.

Anyone talking seriously about allowing this rogue nation any access to nuclear technology as a 'right' ought to seek serious medical attention. The west is going to have to take these toys away from the ayatollahs and put this rogue nation in a position never to be able to get its hands on them again...either now, when the cost is more painful than it might have been a few years ago but bearable, or later when it will be horrific and involve a great deal more blood and treasure.

Those are the choices on the table.