An act of state-sponsored terror

CONFIRMATION that the suicide bomb in Bulgaria that killed five Israeli holidaymakers and left dozens injured was the work of Tehran's notorious Quds Force and its Hezbollah proxy is a timely reminder of how crucial it is to ensure that, as a state committed to terrorism, Iran is never allowed to get nuclear weapons.

The attack was the latest in a grim series that in recent months has seen Quds Force and Hezbollah target Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Kenya and Cyprus. It took place on the 18th anniversary of the bombing of the Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and injured hundreds -- another Quds Force and Hezbollah operation.

The Bulgarian attack came hard on the heels of a rare public warning by the head of Britain's MI6 spy agency, John Sawers, that Iran was less than two years away from achieving the ability to build nuclear weapons. That situation, he believes, would leave the US and Israel with the stark choice of accepting a nuclear-armed Iran or launching a military strike. The sort of strike foreseen by the MI6 chief could never be undertaken lightly. It would have the gravest potential strategic implications at a time of great instability in the Middle East. Beefed up international sanctions against Iran are being given time to work and hopefully may yet bring the malevolent regime to its senses. But we should not count on it. The international community must leave Iran in no doubt that every option remains on the table.

American academic Kenneth Waltz claims the best way to deal with Iran is to allow it to get nuclear weapons, as this would bring stability by acting as a deterrent in a similar way to the nuclear balance between Pakistan and India. Professor Waltz is misguided. Allowing the perpetrators of acts like that in Bulgaria to get their fingers on the triggers of nuclear weapons would be disastrous