A shocking news bulletin indicates that smugglers wereAattempting to bring a tiger cub into Iran.A Tigers are of course an endangered species, as rare as uranium, and zoos around the world are racing to enrich their tiger stocks.A While we can't be certain of the identity of the intended recipients in Iran, the Revolutionary Guard is known to be interested in acquiring the most advanced muscle and claw technology.A Indeed, officials in Israel fear that if Iran is not stopped they could soon have a formidable arsenal of large felines.A With this arsenal, no gazelle, goat, or sheep in the region would be safe.A Continued Iranian defiance of international conventions on endangered species would also have grave implications for the endangered Arabian leopard, the few remaining lion prides in India, and the snow leopards of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In order to stave this off, Israeli officials privately confide that they may have no choice but to bomb zoos in Tehran within the next year, unless the US acts quickly.A While such an extreme measure would of course inflame Muslims and zoo enthusiasts around the world, the principles at stake are too important for this defiance to be unopposed.A The Middle East is a dangerous neighborhood, red in tooth and claw, and Netanyahu fears that without action to force the Ayatollahs to change their stripes, Iran will have regional feline supremacy.A At that point, the Gulf states will quickly fall into Tehran's diplomatic and tourist orbit, further undermining US interests in the region.

.:highclearing.com->