Tagged: Iran

President Obama has said "I don't bluff," when it comes to opposing any effort by Iran to develop nuclear weapons (which that nation says it is not trying to do). And, he told The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg in March, "all options are on the table."

So it would seem the president hasn't ruled out the possibility of military action if talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1 nations do not end with a diplomatic solution.

Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep talks to journalist Christopher de Bellaigue about his book Patriot of Persia: Muhammad Mossadegh and a Tragic Anglo-American Coup.

As Israel wages an intense daily debate about Iran and its nuclear program, a rift between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's former intelligence chiefs has become public.

The recently retired head of internal security, Yuval Diskin, has bashed Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Ehud Barak, calling them unfit to lead the country.

Diskin, who headed Shin Bet, accused Netanyahu and Barak of purposefully misleading the public on the urgency of the threat posed by Iran and its nuclear program. Diskin was also quoted as saying that Netanyahu was not serious about a peace process with the Palestinians.

Diskin's comments were made in a closed forum of about 50 people in southern Israel, but were leaked to the press.

Security professionals in both the U.S. government and in private industry have long feared the prospect of a cyberwar with China or Russia, two states capable of launching destructive attacks on the computer networks that control critical assets such as the power grid or the financial system.

Now they face a new cyberthreat: Iran.

"[The Iranians] have all the resources and the capabilities necessary to be a major player in terms of cyberwarfare," says Jeffrey Carr, an expert on cyberconflict who has consulted for the U.S. Department of Defense.

President Obama announced a set of new sanctions that target "Syria and Iran and the 'digital guns for hire' who help them oppress their people with surveillance software and monitoring technology," the AFP reports.

The president made the announcement during a visit to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. His visit was the first as president.