"Of the three, Iran could least afford to do so, as it would immediately receive a massive response from the USA and Israel which would prove decisively fatal to Iran."


Only if you are acting in a sane manner- which I do not see Iran or N. Korea doing. Both the civil and religious leaders have made statements that indicate a less than complete grasp of reality.

MAD ( Mutually Assured Destruction) depends on the sanity of both sides, or it does not work.

IMHO, of course.

And the question is, can we afford to let it happen, or should we take pre-emptive action to prevent it? And no, I do not know the correct answer until after the fact, either.