Someone help me out here.
It has been argued that the strategy of deterrence wont work against Iran because their leaders are a bunch of crazy suicidal mullahs with an apocalyptic world view who are perfectly willing to go out in a blaze of glory for Allah.
Okay....so if that is indeed the case, why haven't they already targeted Israel with chemical weapons?
They have the missiles, and the technology needed to manufacture and deliver nerve gas (if they don't already have it) is cheap, easy to hide, and decades old. Their allies in Syria had a huge stockpile of chemical weapons and SCUD missiles to deliver them with, yet they never once launched them at Israel.
Israel is a tiny nation with a small population (8 million) but large population density. It would be very vulnerable to a chemical weapon attack. So why hasn't Iran already gassed them?
Is it possible that Iran's leaders may not be suicidal? Is it possible that they are well aware of and therefore deterred from such an attack by Israel's capacity for nuclear retaliation?
Israel is believed to possess about 200 deliverable nuclear warheads most of which are low-yield fission weapons. The United States has approximately two thousand deliverable warheads, many of which are high-yield boosted thermonuclear units of far greater destructive capability. Our missiles are also more accurate than Israel's, and we also have long range stealth aircraft that Israel lacks. Add to this the additional 400 warheads possessed by France and the UK, and one thing becomes apparent. Iran...even an Iran with a handful of crude nuclear bombs....will never pose a threat to us or Israel.