The third wheel Israel

Over the past couple of days, there have been statements back and forth between the U.S. and Iran about ending their three decade diplomatic freeze. Obama's call for Iran to "unclench their fist" was answered by Ahmadinejad's call for "talks based on mutual respect and if a fair atmosphere."  Many applaud the diplomatic coming together as a potential breakthrough that could resolve the nuclear crisis.  Not the Israelis.  As David Sanger's piece in the New York Times astutely points out:

It's almost inconceivable, some of Mr. Obama's aides acknowledge, that the Iranians will be willing to give up everything needed to produce a weapon. And it is hard to imagine that the Israelis will settle for anything less.

If Netanyahu pulls out the contested election in Israel, his hawkish tendencies may point towards a military strike.  Over the weekend, however, Olmert went so far as to say the winner is irrelevant to action being taken on Iran.  The same Reuters article also points out the lack of difficulty for Israeli leaders to secure domestic support for military strikes in the past against Iraq and recently Syria.  If the Bush Administration was unwilling to authorize an Israeli strike or given them wanted technology it seems unlikely that would occur now which means Israel may decide they have to take matters into their own hands and crash the U.S./Iranian date. UPDATE: The Europeans are also worried about the shifting power dynamics in Israel and their attempt at a strike on Iran.