Is it too late for diplomacy with Iran?

I spent 90 minutes this afternoon in downtown Detroit at a restaurant that's way too swanky for a guy like me. I was invited to be a part of a luncheon sponsored by the Jewish Community Council of Metro Detroit.

The council invited Hilary Krieger, the Washington Bureau Chief for the Jerusalem Post, to speak about the possibility of a peace deal being brokered in the region with the help of the new U.S. administration.

Afterwards, she opened up the floor for questions and I couldn't help but get in the mix.

Jared: What is the perception of the United Nations on the Israeli street? Does the U.N. have an credibility there with respect to Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Hilary: (and I'm paraphrasing) Absolutely not. The Israeli people think that the United Nations has been powerless to do anything of substance to rein in Iran. And she went on.

Of course, I pretty much knew what the answer would be before I asked. I was just struck that during the course of her entire 45-minute talk, she never mentioned the U.N. -- not once.

How impotent is this body? Iran has simply thumbed its nose as each and every U.N. resolution aimed at quelling their nuclear motivations.

Putting aside the U.N. as a somewhat benign variable, is time truly running short for diplomacy with Iran? I get the sense from Krieger that it is, and that the Israeli people are looking for a stronger stance on Iran from the American government.

It's scary to think that a military strike on Iran made be in the offing in mere months if nothing can be done diplomatically to solve the Iranian problem. It's the 500-pound gorilla in the room that most Americans, I believe, aren't paying a whole lot of attention to.

I'm afraid that it may be too late for diplomacy. I believe Israel may well be on the verge of taking military action against Iran. The Iranians cannot be allowed to become a nuclear power, and Israel is the only country in the world willing to do what the western powers secretly know has to be done.