I don’t believe Israel, even with help from the Saudis has the capability of stopping Iran’s nuke program. It’s too well hidden, dispersed and buried to stop it. Really the only solution is regime change. It’s also the one thing the mullahs fear. The only time they ever suspended the program in 30 years was a brief period following the invasion of Iraq. Once they realized that we were too bogged down in the aftermath of removing Saddam to attack them they started it back up.
I don’t believe anyone in either party is seriously considering regime change in Iran, but if they are, then Paul is right, it’s best not to talk about it. But he’s wrong in saying we would need a congressional debate to do so. In that he is contradicting himself, as such a debate would clearly spell out our intentions.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/02/05/arms-world-survey-idUKL5N0LA32520140205
Israel only spent about $18.2 billion in 2013, but they get a lot of bang for their buck.
Iran spent $17.7 billion on defense last year. Most of their arms are obsolete. They could still give a land invader lots of trouble, but in this case, the invader need not occupy any one location for long. Once Iran's limited gasoline sources (reserves, refineries and input terminals) are destroyed, serious defense would grind to a halt.
Saudi has modern weapons, and though much less populous than Iran, including hired guns, Saudi Arabia has a population of nearly 30 million to draw from. Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the U.A.E. might assist. Saudi is also growing closer to Pakistan:
http://www.voanews.com/content/saudi-pakistan-military-ties-getting-stronger/1855116.html
A possible scenario might even be for Saudi to strike and attempt to encourage Iran to lash out (hit) Israel, giving Israel excuse to join in.
Also of note is Saudi's rejection of a seat on the UN Security Council, in late 2013, in displeasure with the West, the UN, and the US in particular, over Syria. This and the defense spending sounds much like Israel's "do what we need to do" philosophy.
A determined Saudi-Israeli effort could do the job, though with significant casualties...