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Tensions are again rising in the Persian Gulf over Iran’s nuclear program as the U.S. moves additional ships and warplanes to the region as negotiations that could avert a possible military confrontation remain stalled. The threat of an Israeli strike on Iran appears to be growing as Tehran continues to ignore U.N. Security Council resolutions calling on Iran to stop enriching uranium. The United States is moving significant military firepower to the Persian Gulf and is increasing the number of fighter planes that could strike deep into Iran if the country moves to build a nuclear bomb. Analysts say the time is fast approaching when Israeli leaders must decide whether to launch strikes against Iran, a move that could explode the already fragile Middle East. “The clock is certainly ticking faster because the diplomacy clock, unfortunately, is ticking very slowly,” said Patrick Clawson, an expert on Iran at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The US and 25 nations will hold the largest minesweeping exercise in history later this month in the Gulf where Iran is threating to block the Strait of Hormuz, the corridor for a fifth of the world’s oil. Tehran is planning to hold its own war games as a clear warning against an attack. The country’s supreme leader says its nuclear aims are peaceful and that Iran will not build a bomb. All the while the International Atomic Energy Agency says centrifuges are being added at an underground site as U.N. inspectors are blocked from a military base where weapons-related research may have occurred. | 
