officials.)

The government has paid China and Pakistan large sums of money for ballistic missile and nuclear weapons technology. But the Iranians have not yet been able to produce a missile that can reach Israel, nor a nuclear weapon that works (much less fits into a missile warhead). The government is certain that if they get close to having a nuclear weapon, the Israelis will bomb Iranian nuclear weapons facilities. There's not much Iran can do about that except issue press releases promising retaliation. Since Iran has long called for the destruction of Israel, this kind of threat doesn't mean