by Linda Heard, ARABNEWS

Washington and its Western allies ideally would like to see Iran brought to its knees for a number of reasons. Iran’s nuclear capability, for all the hype, isn’t one of them.

There is no proof that Tehran is working toward a nuclear bomb — and even if has a clandestine weapons program, nukes are only useful for their deterrent value. North Korea has them, Pakistan has them, both anti-Western loose cannons, but as long as the US has a bigger and better nuclear arsenal, the leaders of those countries would have to be suicidal to strike first, in the knowledge that retaliation would be merciless.

The actual goal of the US is regime change. Iran has been an enemy of America and Israel since 1979 and has since become militarily powerful. It’s a thorn in the side of Washington’s ambition to dominate the oil-rich and strategically important Gulf region, thus being in a position to deprive hegemonic competitors like China of energy. When America’s man the Shah became too big for his boots, he was easily unseated. The ruling ayatollahs have proved to be far more tenacious and are peddling influence throughout the area, using non-state actors to disseminate their ideology in order to consolidate a Shiite crescent. It’s no accident that Iran featured in Bush’s puerile ‘Axis of Evil’ long before it had developed a nuclear capability. It’s a slightly different ball game for Israel which views Iran as an existential threat. Iran’s leaders, including President Ahmadinejad has made no secret of their wish to see the Jewish state disappear into the sea. Again, Israel is using the nuclear issue as a pretext. Iran is of deep concern to Israel due to its military and financial support of Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas at a time when Tel Aviv’s Camp David peace treaty with Egypt is fragile. Camp David could break at any minute. Most Egyptians see it as an embarrassment and some leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, now dominating Parliament’s lower house, are champing at the bit to quash it.

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