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An assessment of American defense officials and military analysts close to the Pentagon, who say that an Israeli attack meant to set back Iran’s nuclear program would be a huge and highly complex operation.

Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, warned on CNN that an Israeli strike on Iran right now would be “destabilizing.” Similarly, the British foreign secretary, William Hague, told the BBC that attacking Iran would not be “the wise thing” for Israel to do “at this moment.”

The possible outlines of an Israeli attack have become a source of debate in Washington, where some analysts question whether Israel even has the military capacity to carry it off. One fear is that the United States would be sucked into finishing the job — a task that even with America’s far larger arsenal of aircraft and munitions could still take many weeks, defense analysts said. Another fear is of Iranian retaliation.

“I don’t think you’ll find anyone who’ll say, ‘Here’s how it’s going to be done — handful of planes, over an evening, in and out,’ ” said Andrew R. Hoehn, a former Pentagon official who is now director of the Rand Corporation’s Project Air Force, which does extensive research for the United States Air Force.

Tel Aviv: A recent instalment of the popular Israeli satirical television show A Wonderful Country captured the public mood here regarding a possible strike on Iran and its consequences: a mix of resignation and gallows humour.

In one scene, a house-hunting couple is shown a Tel Aviv apartment facing a drab housing project as a real estate agent proclaims that the place will have a view of the sea.

"In June, that whole row of buildings won't be here any more," she cheerfully informs the prospective buyers, gazing out a window.

"Are they making a park here?" asks the woman viewing the apartment with her husband. "No," chirps the agent, "there's the business with Iran this summer." As if noting a change of seasons, many Israelis are talking about a possible war come summer, or later this year, with an air of inevitability born of years of festering conflict that has periodically flared up into full-blown hostilities.

The prospect of devastating counter-strikes and possible mass casualties seem to be taken in stride, seen as a lesser evil than facing a nuclear-armed Iran.

The wisdom of a strike on Iran has been debated here for months, with current and former security officials as well as political figures arguing over whether such a move would achieve its aims or provoke costly retaliation.

Despite its confident saber-rattling, Israel's concern is growing that the country is vulnerable to a devastating counter-strike if it attacks Iran's nuclear programme.

Increasingly, the debate in Israel is turning to whether a strike can do enough damage to the Iranian programme to be worth the risks. Experts believe that any attack would at best set back, but not cripple, the Iranians.

Scepticism about Israel's ability to defend itself runs deep.

"The whole of Israel [is vulnerable to] tens of thousands of missiles and rockets from neighbouring countries. So of course we need to understand the change of paradigm," he continued. "If there is a war, and I hope there isn't a war, they are not just going to hit Israeli soldiers. The main aim is at civilian populations."

An Israeli military strike would very likely draw an Iranian retaliation, experts believe, which would involve either Iran firing its long-range Shahab missiles or acting via local proxies of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza or even Al Assad loyalists in Syria.

Experts believe the experience of the 2006 war against Hezbollah, in which the guerrillas rained 4,000 rockets onto Israel, is just a small taste of what could lie ahead. The chief of military intelligence recently said that Israel's enemies now have some 200,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel.

But this time, Israel's main population centres are believed to be possible targets. In the past, rockets fired from Gaza or Lebanon have been directed at smaller, marginal communities, the largest being regional centres like Haifa in the north or Beersheba in the south.

Leaders believe that Israel's main cities would be targeted by more sophisticated, longer-range missiles.

Aside from a spate of Saddam Hussain's rudimentary Scud missiles in 1991, the city has never truly been tested before. Although the Scuds caused little damage memories of that war are vivid the strikes caused widespread panic and tens of thousands of people fled to safer areas of the country or left altogether.