A victory for extremism in Iran

AS ultra-extremist hardliners surrounding supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei head for expected victory in Iran's parliamentary election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington this week, with its focus on a possible unilateral military strike against Tehran's nuclear facilities, could hardly be more timely or significant.

Iran's election was a choice between mad and madder - between the ultra-extremism of Ayatollah Khamenei and the slightly different semantics of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - who are cut from the same cloth, hell-bent on the destruction of Israel, and determined to continue with the drive for nuclear weapons. With opposition leaders locked up and hundreds of would-be candidates arbitrarily disqualified, it was never going to be a fair race. But the extent to which Mr Ahmadinejad is on the nose was seen in the embarrassing defeat of his younger sister Parvin by a more conservative rival in their home town of Garmsar.

While the outcome is a sharp reminder of the extent to which unalloyed extremism and fanaticism remain firmly entrenched despite international sanctions, it also reflects increasing divisions within the power elite. This will doubtless feature in Mr Netanyahu's pitch to Barack Obama. Israeli military planners believe that because of these divisions and the crisis in Iran's main ally, Syria, the timing has never been more auspicious for a unilateral military strike and that unless action is taken soon, Iran's nuclear facilities will be buried deep underground, beyond the reach of air attack. Mr Obama has reiterated Washington's determination to ensure Iran should not get nuclear weapons. Such a development, the President insists, would be unacceptable - "we mean what we say" and "I don't bluff".

As the clock fast approaches zero in the Iranian crisis it is unquestionably a time for the coolest of cool heads. No one wants conflict if it can be avoided and Mr Obama's counsel for Israel to be cautious is wise. But the election outcome in Tehran confirms just how ossified extremism is in Iran, and how little hope there is can be of voluntary change to the catastrophic determination to acquire nuclear weapons. In such circumstances, the drumbeat of war is unfortunately growing louder, with a growing sense among the Israeli people that confrontation is likely.