What we and Israel might need to accept is a nuclear armed Iran. Then the doctrine of MAD will be resurrected. The use of their nuclear missiles will trigger a nuclear response against Iran and at least someone in Iran will understand that reality. They may have the nukes but be powerless to use them for anything but blackmail and propaganda. The big if is whether the Iranians will share their bomb with terrorists. Again the MAD doctrine needs to be very clear...any use of nukes even traced to Iran means a nuclear response.
The leftists and MSM will condemn Bush if Iran gets nukes, but he can say he was waiting for the UN to act sanctions to work etc.
While we might accept that the Israelis cannot. They don't have the territory to survive a nuclear attack, and the other Arab countries would quickly attack to pick over the remaining bones. Further, I'm not so sure that Ahmedinejad would be deterred by the threat of destruction of the State of Iran - he may see that as necessary for the second coming of Mohammed or the Mahdi or whatever it is they await. Plain and simple, he's a madman and must not be allowed to possess nukes!
Additionally, how long before the Iranians tell us to get out of Iraq and the Gulf or Baghdad, Manama, Riyadh, and Dubai net nuked? No, no, no, hell no, the Iranians must not get nukes! They're already threatening to close the Straits of Hormuz if sanctions are applied. It's only a threat, and one I doubt they could implement, but it shows their state-of-mind.
However, I do not share your optimism that the Iranians won't use atomics on the Jooooooozzzz.
The more cynical might think that some in American government might even welcome Iranian first use, as that would certainly provide the poltical cover and national unity necessary to really permanently put paid to the Iranians. I do think a strike on Israel by the Iranians would result in massive retaliation, perhaps by Israel and perhaps by the US and Britain, perhaps by all three acting in concert.
MAD won't work when the other party is a nutcase. It depends on some values in common, like loving their children. Now who blows up their own kid and then talks their little brother into doing it too?
I wonder about the sanity of those who think MAD will work with the mullahs.
No we cannot and especially Israel cannot accept a nuclear iran. The mullahs and the terrorists they support at crazy enough to USE them. MAD does not work against somone willing to die.