Maybe it's that persian hatred of the jews goes back further than you think
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We sometimes think the Iranian animosity to Israel is somewhat recent, the fixation of a deranged islamic mind, but no, it has been a problem for longer than that as the Israeli PM pointed out to BO

It is a clear message even the President can understand. The Persian King gave an order for the extermination of the Jews . Esther(his secret Jewish queen ) and Mordecai objected. So the king permitted them to make a countervailing decree . They decided that the Jews had a right to self defense. The king's edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate any armed force of any nationality or province that might attack them and their women and children; and to plunder the property of their enemies.(Esther 8:11)

The Mahdi-hatter and the 12ers may be bluffing when they threaten to wipe Israel off the map. Nukes would give them the means. Israel cannot afford to take that risk.

yes I know the story well, I don't expect they will hoist Ahamadjihad on his own pittard (gallows) but I also expect it is a message to Iran that the edict still stands and that God is on their side from way back when. I found interesting the ayatollah's fatwah that nuclear weapons are a sin and will not be permitted. That might be as big a back down as the west can expect and maybe they should take what has been said at face value after all you can't be a fundamentalist and not stand on your word.

He might also be saying to BO you had better be on the right side of this buddy, no shilly shallying with the Muslims on this one.

There is a power struggle in Iran now between the Mahdi-hatter and the IRGC Qod storm troopers vs the reigning Ayatollah leader Ali Khamenei ;who indeed made a fatwah . Perhaps future events will purge the 12ers desire to usher in the era that the Mahdi returns .

However there is no indication that the Iranians have backed down from their enrichment and weaponization programs. All we keep on doing is moving the red line. The enrichment red line was crossed. The 20% enrichment red line was crossed. They keep on improving the range of their delivery systems . We know they are developing triggers for nukes. They refuse to allow the IAEA inspectors in and there are satellite images of them attempting to scrub the evidence at the Parchin site . Meawhile they continue to harden the research and production facilities ;in many cases setting them in underground bunkers.

How long can the Israelis wait is the question? The President committed the US to action during his AIPAC address unless that was a complete lie . I believe he would like to wait until next year because of election politics . Not sure his time frame and the Israeli time frame is the same . For the Israelis it is an existential threat they cannot afford to ignore.

You keep saying they can't ignore it, but there is a fine line here they have to walk. They beat their neighbours when they didn't have the capability they have now. They had some difficulty with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Beating up the Palestinians doesn't make you a regional power and what has to be calculated here is the Iranian potential for retaliation and retaliation won't just come from Iran. The Israeli's have to make a raid that isn't intercepted with plenty of potential for detection, this isn't a raid over the border and it's over. They won't make the attempt until their missile shield is fully operational. The Palestinians just demonstrated that overwhelm tactics can significantly lower its effectiveness. Perhaps the Israeli's are willing to risk WWIII.

Heck of a choice isn't it ? Well ,the Jews sat back and did nothing once before when someone threatened to annihilate them .
Of course if the world would guarantee their survival from all the regional threats... but that would mean the world being proactive ,and you know that isn't going to happen since most of the world would be happy if Israel was destroyed .

Yes Tom some of the world might be happy if Israel were destroyed, that lunatic edge of the Muslim world, and of course the Palestinians, who will never accept its existence. Here in this land, just like your own, we support the existence of Israel. I think many would actually forget it exists if they were not constantly reminded of its existence. I don't take your view that the arab or muslim view represents most of the world, that just because they shout loud their view is valid. Those same people hold similar views regarding your own nation and have endevoured to further that cause.

That the jews sat back and did nothing is the way they dealt with the problem for centuries, they just moved but the last time they didn't have that option and this time they don't have that option, we all know that. I feel sure that if they could reach an accommodation with the Palestinians the problem would go away but you have two hard nosed groups unwilling to compromise and a madman using them as an excuse for his rants to deflect attention. We have found a homeland for the Jews we now need to find a homeland for the Palestinians. Perhaps we could put in a second storey

The "Palestinians" have a homeland. The problem is that they see the territory inside Israel as theirs . You look at a map of the region in the offices of Hamas or the Brotherhood and Israel has been removed. From the territory .
Regarding the Iranians ; the Israeli PM did well to remind the President that the elimination of the Jew has been a historical goal of the Persian leaders .

I am quite sure that the destruction of Israel would by a day of joyous celebration in the halls of the General Assembly .

I think you need to remember that it was the general assembly that brought the modern state of Israel into existence, albeit without adequate support. It was also lunatic Islam that decided that the Jews and the Palestinians could not coexist. Do you really think the Palestinians have a homeland? Not those Palestinians who originate from within Israel, their lands are gone. This is the difficulty, entrenched within the Palestinians is that they cannot return and it is these people who continually stir up the fight against Israel.

I cannot see that Iran would be interested if the Palestinian cause did not exist. Other Islamic states are not particularly interested in opposing Israel excepting when conflict escalates. In fact it appears to be Gaza that is the problem and one can well understand why, A large population held captive in what is little more than a ghetto. It seems the jews learned little from their experiences

The whole thing needs a rethink otherwise this conflict will go on forever

Blame the Jews... I knew it would come down to that .

No Tom that's not it, the Palestinians bear their share, but it comes down to who has the power and who doesn't and we know that the Israeli's hold the cards at the moments and so it is possible for them to lead, like relaxing import restrictions on Gaza. Look Tom sending barrages of rockets into civilian areas is reprehensible behaviour, it is cowardise, but indiscriminate retaliation in civilian areas has its draw back too. What happened to an the ground policing here, is that too hard, I know it will be seen as invasion. I think the wall in the west bank was a great thing, it obviously stopped a serious problem, but it doesn't appear to be a solution for Gaza. In fact nothing short of leveling the place appears to be a solution but you can't do that