It’s been out there for awhile that when Netanyahu was in the Israeli Knesset in 1992, he warned Iran was 3-5 years from a bomb. Other Israeli and American officials were saying similar things at the time.
Netanyahu warned about the Iranian bomb when he made his first speech to Congress in 1996.
When you think about it, it’s incredible that we are now 18 years past the end of the range Bibi warned about and military action still hasn’t started.
I expect that to change soon, however.
There are currently four regional powers in the Mid-East: Turkey, the Saudis, Iran, and Israel. The way things are shaping up, Shi’ite Iran will become squeezed between Turkey and the Saudis. It will need a local ally. So will Israel. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a quiet alliance bloom between Iran and Israel in (say) five years.
We froze billions of dollars and many assets of Iran years ago. We also hurt their trade. If they had the money and trade, they would already have had the bomb for some time.