A successful operation would set them back far more than just two years. 5 to 10 is more like it.
To me, it looks like another Cold War brewing
Not even close. For another Cold War to take place our enemy would necessarily have to be heavily armed with nukes. ...like the Soviets. The whole idea of taking out the Iranian nuke facilities is to prevent this state of affairs.
In addition, the doctrime of mutually assured destruction (MAD) that prevented the Cold War from becoming hot only works if all the nations involved are run by sane people who value national survival. Needless to say, nutballs who believe in returning 12th Imams and a heaven filled with virgins as a reward for killing "infidels" don't qualify.
If the civilized allows the entire Middle East to go nuclear (which is precisely what would happen if we did nothing about Iran) we'll be looking at WW3 in short order.
“If the civilized allows the entire Middle East to go nuclear (which is precisely what would happen if we did nothing about Iran) we’ll be looking at WW3 in short order.”
You may be right. In any event, I think we will have the opportunity to test your hypothesis because I don’t think the US is going to do anything about it.