Reply #20: Correction: fossil fuels are cheaper short term.

[TheWraith]

And I'm not talking about intangible future costs, like, you know, your kids being able to breathe. :) Nuclear has a staggering up-front cost, but on a kilowatt-hour basis the fuel is dirt cheap. Even factoring in maintainence costs it's around the same price per kilowatt-hour as wind, and only slightly more expensive than coal.

To be honest, if I were the Iranians I'd be interested in a bomb too. Aside from the stress of having the US playing "maybe we will, maybe we won't bomb you" for the last five years, they've got a substantial border with Pakistan: a beyond dirt-poor country with nukes, and a population density four times that of Iran. It's hard to show how it wouldn't be profitable for the Pakistanis to nuke Tehran and all the major Iranian military bases, then roll in and take the place over.