Top American official blasts Nethanyahu

So they should. Netanyahu should not be giving this speech, it is incredibly damaging to the Israeli-American relationship. Frankly Israel's behavior over Iran has been completely counterproductive and is making the situation worse.

Peace be with you,

Do you think there's any truth in the quite wide-spread idea that Israel hold a lot of power in US politics?

I highly doubt Iran will ever build a nuclear weapon, when the majority of its inhabitants are shia's , when it's one of the big centre's for ulema and religious scholarship, and in shi'ism it is forbidden to build nuclear arms and weapons.

I know this because i am shia, i know people world wide who follow the rulings of ayatullah khamanei, and i know for certain both him and khomeini would never tolerate nuclear weapons actually used.

Israel know this. But they see an Iran less dependent on fossil-fuels, an Iran stronger economically, and hence it would compromise them.

These are my current views.

To a point yes, Israel does have a lot of influence in the United States. Still, that there are even negotiations on going shows just how little that influence can mean at times. The two countries are generally seen as being really close, but there have been plenty of spats over the years and diverging interests.

As for what you have said about nuclear weapons, I don't think they are currently developing an actual bomb. But how they have gone about the program, the secrecy, the labs in bunkers and research into nuclear triggers is very concerning. At the very least I believe they want break out capacity, so able to build a bomb in a number of months.

Frankly despite the religious rulings, faced with a perceived existential threat or facing a severe degradation in its position within the region I could see an Iranian bomb. Given the consequences of such an outcome, the Iranian nuclear program needs to be carefully watched and managed.