Following on from this post, it now appears that everyone and their grandmother thinks Israel will attack Iran. AT least it looks that way when none other than Silvio Berlusconi says the following in Haaretz.com :

World leaders “believe absolutely” that Israel may decide to take military action against Iran to prevent the latter from acquiring nuclear weapons, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Saturday.

“Iran is not guaranteeing a peaceful production of nuclear power [so] the members of the G-8 are worried and believe absolutely that Israel will probably react preemptively,” Berlusconi told reporters following talks with other Group of Eight leaders north of Toronto.

Even Pravda seems to think it is on the cards :

As each day passes, war in the Middle East seems increasingly likely. The truth is that Israel will never allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons, and Iran is absolutely determined to continue developing a nuclear program. So right now Israel and Iran are engaged in a really bizarre game of “nuclear chicken” and neither side is showing any sign of blinking. In fact, even prominent world leaders are now openly stating that it is basically inevitable that Israel is going to strike Iran. For example, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi recently made the stunning admission that the G8 nations “absolutely believe” that Israel will attack Iran. But a conflict between Israel and Iran would not just affect the Middle East – it would have staggering implications for the rest of the globe.

The Pravda article goes on to list 7 possible effects of war with Iran but the first two – oil prices rocketing into the heavens and stock markets crashing into the floor would be enough to finish off any green shoots that havent already been flattened under the weight of sovereign debt.

Not much to look forward to there unless you are an arms dealer I suppose!