Iran starts nuclear work in mountain bunker: diplomats

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/09/us-nuclear-iran-iaea-idUSTRE8080KT20120109

Iran is deeply weakened. Between the scars of the Green Revolution, which were magnified by the Arab Spring, and the sanctions that the US has spearheaded, the fundamental weaknesses of the regime have begun to give way. Ally Syria has collapsed into chaos. Turkey is resurgent in a way they have not been in two hundred years, eclipsing Iranian power in the region. The Saudis show little if any sign damage from pro-democracy movements and looks to cash in on Iran's inability to sell oil to the world.
The saber rattling over the Gulf of Hormuz is just that and Iran is incapable of stopping a US strike fleet from entering the Gulf. In fact, in 1986 they tried and were easily defeated, wasting expensive equipment that might not be that easy to replace this time around. It is a confrontation that Iran would have no way of winning and would lead to widespread US air strikes across Iran, damaging much more than a few oil platforms and speedboats, like they did last time.
Which is why the regime sees their one ticket out of this jam as nuclear capability. They strive to be North Korea, only with oil. Enriching uranium is the first step towards that goal, but they still have a ways to go. Israel will see this as an existential threat, and their first instinct will be to strike now, before the program has gotten too far along, and they probably have, given reports of recent goings on at Iranian nuclear sites.

With the economy collapsing around them, the Iranian regime has no choice but to double down and obtain nuclear capability faster than their country can turn inside out and depose them. With nuclear capability, they hope, will come the power to bargain as equals and the open support of Russia and China.