Like a dangerous game of chess, the world watches as Iran maneuvers the pieces of their nuclear program into position. Multiple sources have recently declared the nuclear program to have weapon ambitions. Check.

Iran now possesses an atomic power plant and is receiving regular shipments of uranium from Russia. Uranium enrichment is needed to make fuel for the reactor network that Iranian cities depend upon for their source of electricity. Or so the international community hopes.

“Many nations have little problem with Iran developing a nuclear energy program,” said Professor of History Timothy Kircher. “The problem is that the Iranian regime is believed to be pursuing the development of nuclear weapons. That it would do so makes sense in terms of the Iranian government’s goal of regional hegemony in the Middle East.”

Uranium enrichment can be used for electricity, but it can also be used for weapons of mass destruction if enriched to 90 percent or more. This is making the Western world and especially Israel – which is within missile range – very uncomfortable.

“Israel is willing to pay any price to ensure our existence here in our homeland,” said Danny Ayalon, Israel’s deputy foreign minister. “We will take all the measures to defend ourselves and to ensure that the Jewish state, the Jewish people and, for that matter, the entire civilized world, will not face extinction by a nuclear Iran.”

According to the United States, Israel has time before it makes any offensive military decisions. American experts have claimed it would take Iran at least another year to build an atomic weapon. Russia, which recently signed a $1 billion contract to build the plant, agrees, declaring that they will retrieve all used reactor fuel that is capable of being converted into nuclear weapons. Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stated they would cooperate with inspectors to verify they are obliging with international sanctions. However, recent activity has not smothered concern.

“Arab neighbours, the U.S., European countries, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and, above all, Israel are concerned about this pursuit, since the Iranian government has consistently denied Israel’s legitimacy,” said Kircher.

According to The New York Times, in February 2010 the United Nations’ nuclear inspectors announced that they had “extensive evidence of past or current undisclosed activities by Iran’s military to develop a nuclear warhead.”

A few months later, in a report conducted by the IAEA, there was disturbance in a unit about to be inspected. In September, the Iranian government barred two IAEA agents from the country.

Ahmadinejad’s reaction to the violated sanctions is not bestowing confidence in his country’s nuclear developments. After the IAEA report was published, a fourth round of sanctions by the UN Security Council was applied.

According to the BBC, an irate Ahmadinejad declared the sanctions should be tossed in a trash bin like a “used handkerchief.”

Reports from international inspectors are becoming more strongly worded. According to the New York Times, the reports give detailed accounts of nuclear sites expanding, of a lack of cooperation with inspectors and their questioning, and finally, of expulsion of inspectors from the country in September.

As if they hear a ticking time bomb that the United States does not detect, Israel’s Air Force has been spotted practising flying exercises. Anticipating a possible Israeli air raid, Iran placed their newest uranium enrichment site in a heavily protected mountain fortress adjoining a military base. As history has illustrated, despite their best defensive efforts, Iran may soon hear the jets of F-161s flying overhead.

Israel has a close and personal history with the destruction of specific nuclear plants. In 1981, Israeli F-16s flew into Iraq and destroyed Saddam Hussein’s nuclear plant located near Baghdad. In 2007, Israel demolished a nuclear plant in Syria. Today, Israel may have a new target in sight: Iran’s nuclear power facilities.

The threat of an Israeli-Iranian standoff has dangerous prospects.

“If you are going to have two nuclear powers in this region that do not talk to each other, this might lead to disaster, because of miscalculation, misunderstanding, misperception,” said Ephraim Kam, deputy director of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, to National Public Radio.

The United States has advised Israel against an airstrike. This may not be the move that will bring the sought-after safety to Israel. According to The New York Times, it comes down to which is more dangerous: a nuclear armed Iran or an Iran out to revenge a destroyed nuclear plant.

However, the possibility of Israeli military action is not being weakened by Ahmadinejad’s conduct.

His speeches have left many without faith that Ahmadinejad is trustworthy with such dangerous potential. He has not kept his objections to the United States’ and Israel’s existence to himself.

“God willing, with the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism,” said Ahmadinejad in 2005.

Iran declares peaceful intentions with their nuclear program, though mounting evidence is suggesting otherwise. They have stated that they will continue building their nuclear program while Israel has declared a promise of security for its people. Currently, each country fights for their final move:

Checkmate.