The Iranian nuclear program would be an unpleasant thing for Israel to live with, and a costly thing for Iran to pursue. But, if Iran does build the bomb, it can be deterred as the Soviet Union was.

Nuclear deterrence is ugly … but it works!

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/03/15/matt-gurney-an-iranian-nuclear-bomb-will-make-deterrence-harder/