Photo Gallery The Approaching War?
Israel has increased the volume on its threats to attack Iran should the country not come clean about its nuclear program. Many now believe it is not longer a question of if, but when Israel will attack. Here, Israeli Air Force F-15 fighter jets refueling aloft.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is of particular concern to the Israelis due to his penchant for Holocaust denial. Iran continues to insist that its nuclear program is purely for civilian purposes.
Still, Iran too has been rattling its sabers in recent weeks, saying that it was prepared to close down the Strait of Hormuz, through which well over half the world's oil supply must pass, due to the intensification of sanctions against Tehran.
An Iranian soldier overlooking the Strait of Hormuz during military exercizes at the end of last December. The US used secret diplomatic channels to warn Iran that closing the strait would be generate a retaliatory response.
The uptick in tension over Iran's nuclear program comes in response to a report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency last year in which serious concerns about the country's intentions were laid out. Here, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani speaking at an IAEA conference last summer.
In addition to the public diplomatic battle, Israel and Iran would appear to be waging a secret services battle. Several nuclear scientists in Iran have been murdered in recent years and in February, a series of amateurish attacks targeted Israeli diplomats abroad. Here, Indian investigators at the scene of one of the attacks in New Delhi.
Iran has blamed Israel for several deadly attacks on nuclear scientists in recent years. Here, a demonstrator holds an image of an assassinated scientist during a ceremony marking the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in February.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington this week for meetings with US President Barack Obama (here, a file photo from last September. The focus of their meetings are likely going to be Iran and what to do about it. The US has been trying to rein in Netanyahu's recent hawkish rhetoric.
This photo shows Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a launching ceremony of a new destroyer.
An Iranian soldier stands guard at the entrance to the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran. So far, the West has yet to find the "smoking gun" when it comes to Iran's nuclear intentions. But most believe it is only a matter of time before the country has the ability to build a bomb.
Ahmadinejad inspecting the Natanz nuclear power plant in 2007. Iran recently tripled its capacity to enrich uranium to elevated levels. It is unclear if the country has created any bomb-grade radioactive material.
