Dear Editor,
There has been much frenzied commentary and analysis in the international media, especially business and economics publications, about the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites.

Economists warn of the direful consequences for the world economy, with oil prices soaring; increased instability in the Middle East and the Gulf region, and a major global recession that would diminish us all.

Many of these articles conjure up an impression of Israel as a paranoid nation that is eager to let loose against its enemies.

But surely you're not being paranoid when what you fear is real? The Iranian regime has repeatedly expressed the view that Israel should be wiped off the map, that it should cease to exist. The same regime has sponsored the activities of organisations in other countries that are pledged to the destruction of Israel, including Hizbollah and Hamas.

So when that regime is edging closer to enriching uranium, and therefore to the ability to produce nuclear weapons, is it not logical to expect that it will either launch a direct nuclear strike on Israel or arrange for a proxy terrorist attack involving a nuclear device?

The US administration in recent days is said to be seeking a rapprochement with Iran, and to be less keen than previously on military action to prevent it acquiring nuclear weapons.

Does that scenario sound familiar? During World War Two, pleas to the Allied nations to bomb the death camps fell on deaf ears. Such action wasn't deemed a priority in terms of winning the war. So the innocent Jewish men, women, and children continued to perish.

I watched a documentary a few months ago on the Holocaust and a comment from a survivor who was interviewed really stuck in my mind. He said: "If there had been a State of Israel in existence in World War Two, and if it had an air force consisting of only one plane, I believe that plane would have taken off to bomb Auschwitz."

Because there wasn't an Israel when the Nazis were committing genocide, the Jews were soft targets for them.

Today, we have a regime in Iran that will never have to resort to death camps or any other form of labour intensive mass murder to achieve its stated aim of eliminating the Jewish State. A nuclear attack could kill as many innocent people in a few hours as the Nazis murdered in the course of their entire 'extermination programme'.