Angela Merkel pledges support

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has arrived in Israel to a thunderous reception. Amidst speculation over the continued efforts at Uranium enrichment by Iran, Merkel has pledged total German commitment to reaching a multilateral initiative aimed at halting Iranian nuclear ambitions.

This initiative, although welcomed by Israel, is proving to be a diplomatic nightmare for Israel-aligned states. The Iranians are in a position of immense political power. Theirs is a regime powered by massive petroleum revenues; a fundamentalist anti-western regime whose democratically-elected President is hell-bent on Israel's destruction. As a result of this stance, it is exceedingly difficult to resolve the tensions.

President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad is seen as a hero to his people and although Iran is not an Arab state, it is seen as the only defiant regime to counter the purported Western imperialism in the region. Since the end of the 1970s Iran has moved to abolish the secular state system. It is now a fully-functioning Islamic republic. As such, the tolerance for other religious denominations is limited at best.

The existence of a Jewish homeland in the Middle East is a thorn in the side of extremists in the region. Whether Israel poses a threat to Muslim interests is overshadowed by a calculated game of duplicity and alignment among various power blocs. American interests are being countered by Russian and Chinese interests.

As the German Chancellor embarks on yet another mission of support to Israel, the world waits with baited breath for a diplomatic solution to a massive threat.