With the U.S. stretched thin by the war in Iraq, leaders look nervously to Iran, a member of President Bush’s infamous “Axis of Evil” whose government is now openly defying warnings to cease its nuclear development programs.

A few months ago it looked as though Iran would halt its nuclear activities in exchange for trade incentives from the European Union. But now all bets are off. The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is now rebuilding nuclear centrifuges.

An Iran with nuclear weapons would drastically alter the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. World leaders want to take a stand against Iran, but must tread carefully to avoid igniting a disastrous conflict. The stakes are high as experts now address the possibility of a nuclear Iran.

Click one of the “Listen” links to hear about the nuclear threat posed by Iran.

Guests:

David Kay, weapons investigator for the Bush administration until January 2004, now a senior fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

Mohamed Hadi Semati, political scientist at Tehran University, currently a visiting scholar at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Leonard Spector, Deputy Director of the Monterey Institute of International Studies’ Center for Nonproliferation Studies

Scott Peterson, covers Iran and the Middle East for the Christian Science Monitor