The complex relationship between the U.S., Iran and Israel

Hour 1

As the U.N. General Assembly meets this week, the debate and rhetoric over Iran’s nuclear weapons capability and how to deal with it has intensified.  Despite stern warnings and banking and oil sanctions, Iran has refused to meet Security Council demands that it halts enriching uranium and that weapons inspectors be allowed access to sites where the activity is believed to have taken place.  Diplomacy efforts between Iran and the U.S. Britain, China, France, Russia,  and  Germany have come up empty and Israel has ramped up talks about a possible attack with Benjamin Netanyahu putting intense pressure on President Barack Obama to set a clear redline that Iran cannot cross with its nuclear program if it wants to avoid war.  This week all the key players — President Barack Obama, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the United Nations.  In this hour of Radio Times we’ll talk about the complex relationships between the U.S., Israel and Iran with three guests.  We’ll begin our conversation with NPR foreign correspondent Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reporting from Israel and then we’ll turn to Iranian-American writer and scholar Mehdi Khalaji of  The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Woodrow Wilson  International Center fellow Aaron David Miller.

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Photo: A missile is displayed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, in front of a portrait of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Friday (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)