WITH the increasing sound of sabres being rattled, the vexed question of Iran's nuclear aspirations is causing yet more diplomatic tension. As a famous politician once said: "Jaw, jaw is better than war, war", and the hope is that common sense will prevail.

But when did that ever come into the equation? The basic problem is that Iran is suspected of carrying out some form of atomic testing, whilst it vows it is all for the domestic creation of electricity. Rather like Saddam's non-existent weapons of mass destruction, no-one really knows what the Iranians are up to.

And we all know what the West's invasion of Iraq brought about. Around 100,000 deaths and counting, including many of our Armed Forces, and the kind of costs which have only added to this country's debt.

Sometimes, rightly or wrongly, a dictator is the only person to keep warring factions apart. Now the country is virtually ungovernable, utilities are at best spasmodic and suicide bombings an almost daily occurrence. Some improvement. The whole area is a hotbed of discontent.

Egypt, a year on, is still run by the military since they are the only cohesive entity with a command structure to bring about. Again, things are little better than under Mubarak.

Our own excursion in Libya has had mixed results. Gaddafi still has his supporters and again, the country is far from stable, Syria, despite sanctions (that word again) and observers being sent in to monitor the situation, is still ruled by Assad and with the regular, daily shootings of protesters. Iran has its own internal problems, too.

Will there be some kind of Arab Spring?

Well, not quite, since the Iranians are not actually Arabs. A "Persian Protest", perhaps. Internal strife is growing and Mr Ahmadinejad (or dinner jacket, as I call him) is facing increasing calls to go. But, as in much of the Middle East, it is the Mullahs and Imams who hold sway.

Threats of sanctions by the West have simply hardened the already hard line of Iran and now they threaten to close the Straits of Hormuz through which much of West's oil flows. They are justifiably incensed at the murder of several of their nuclear scientists.

The enmity between Israel and its neighbours is as insoluble now as ever. And with Israel's backing by the US, which supplies much of its armaments and support in the UN, other nations are wary of an all-out attack

A murky world, indeed. Even our own Tony Blair has failed to find a solution as peace envoy to the area. Also, why do we assume that nuclear weapons are only safe in the hands of Western governments? And why are we surprised that other nations wish to join the club? In any case, if the Middle East wasn't sitting on so much of the world's oil supplies, would we give a hoot about any of them?