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Rhetoric in Washington DC and Tel Aviv over possible war with Iran has heated up to such an extent, over past weeks that even US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said he expects Israel to attack Iran within the next few months. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s every move is being interpreted in the American and Israeli media as provoking war. On Wednesday, his witnessing of the lowering of fuel rods into the core of a nuclear reactor contributed to the war hysteria. Also helping to ramp up speculation has been Ahmedinejad’s threat to shut down the Straits of Hormuz, through which a significant portion of Iranian oil is transported.

An international inquiry into several bomb blasts in Thailand, India, and Georgia, apparently targeting Israeli diplomats, has been linked to Iran, as well as the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Investigators are seeking several suspects in the various countries. Meanwhile, an on-going epidemic of murders of Iranian nuclear scientists has also added to the tensions, with the Iranian government accusing Western powers and Israel of orchestrating the murders. In fact, last week, senior US officials, speaking to NBC news on condition of anonymity, confirmed that a dissident Iranian group, trained and funded by Israel, has been carrying out the murders of nuclear scientists.

Here in the United States, President Obama has added Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, to the US Treasury’s list of designated global terrorists, saying that it “supports global terrorism, commits human rights abuses against Iranians and participates in ongoing repression in Syria.”

And, a group of 32 senators from both major parties have backed legislation this week saying they would support President Obama in his attempt to stop Iran’s nuclear program, even if it meant going to war. Senator Lieberman, who introduced the bill said, it sends a message “clearly and resolutely to Iran, you have only two choices: peacefully negotiate to end your nuclear weapons program or expect a military strike to disable that program.” While Obama has said he does not prefer a military strike, he has said all options are on the table.

GUEST: Muhammad Sahimi, professor at the University of Southern California and lead political columnist for the website PBS/Frontline/Tehran Bureau