The latest of a long series of Iranian threats against Israel was spoken by Ahmad Karimpour, a senior advisor to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. ‘If the Supreme Leader’s orders are to be executed, with the abilities and the equipment at our disposal, we will raze the Zionist regime in less than eight minutes’. Iran’s ‘Supreme Leader’ Ali Khamenei, its 76-year-old head of state and most powerful figure, has repeatedly threatened to annihilate Israel. Earlier this month, Iran’s military successfully tested a precision-guided ballistic missile with a 2,000- kilometre range (and so capable of reaching Israel). Iran signed an accord last July pledging to curb nuclear activities in exchange for lifting of sanctions: illogically, ballistic missiles were not covered in the agreement.