The latest from Charles Krauthammer concering Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons and the religion of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that could fortell a coming disaster.

Lest you get carried away with today’s good news from Iraq, consider what’s happening next door in Iran. The wild pronouncements of the new Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have gotten sporadic press ever since he called for Israel to be wiped off the map. He subsequently amended himself to say that Israel should simply be extirpated from the Middle East map and moved to some German or Austrian province. Perhaps near the site of an old extermination camp?

Except that there were no such camps, indeed no Holocaust at all, says Ahmadinejad. Nothing but “myth,” a “legend” that was “fabricated . . . under the name ‘Massacre of the Jews.’ ” This brought the usual reaction from European and American officials, who, with Churchillian rage and power, called these statements unacceptable. That something serious might accrue to Iran for this — say, expulsion from the United Nations for violating its most basic principle by advocating the outright eradication of a member state — is, of course, out of the question.

To be sure, Holocaust denial and calls for Israel’s destruction are commonplace in the Middle East. They can be seen every day on Hezbollah TV, in Syrian media, in Egyptian editorials appearing in semiofficial newspapers. But none of these aspiring mass murderers are on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons that could do in one afternoon what it took Hitler six years to do: destroy an entire Jewish civilization and extinguish 6 million souls.

Everyone knows where Iran’s nuclear weapons will be aimed. Everyone knows they will be put on Shahab rockets, which have been modified so that they can reach Israel. And everyone knows that if the button is ever pushed, it will be the end of Israel.

But it gets worse. The president of a country about to go nuclear is a confirmed believer in the coming apocalypse. Like Judaism and Christianity, Shiite Islam has its own version of the messianic return — the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam. The more devout believers in Iran pray at the Jamkaran mosque, which houses a well from which, some believe, he will emerge.

When Ahmadinejad unexpectedly won the presidential elections, he immediately gave $17 million of government funds to the shrine. Last month Ahmadinejad said publicly that the main mission of the Islamic Revolution is to pave the way for the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam.

We’ve reported on Ahmadinejad’s religious beliefs previously, most notably his belief it is his duty to prepare for the return of the 12th Imam. To Ahmadinejad, the 12th Imam is someone who he must not only prepare for, but strike agreements with.

So who is the 12th Imam for those unaware of Islamic texts? The 12th Imam is also known as Muhammed ibnul Hassan is alleged to appear on the Day of Judgement. Right now Ahmadinejad believes he is alive and hiding in a well near Qom, Iran, which is where the president has taken many trips to and dropped notes down into. Ahmadinejad is not alone in this quest to bring the Day of Judgement upon civilization. Religious texts state the 12th Imam will return to convert the entire world to Islam, thus getting rid of those who oppose or share a different faith. In order to clear the path for the return of the 12th Imam, all resistance must be vanquished. It just so happens that resistance, in accordance to other Islamic texts and what is also published in the New Testament, the Holy Lands must be clensed of all nonbelievers. In short, that means there is no more Israel and no Jews or Christians in the land where Israel now exists, only Muslims wishing to further the continued spread of Islam with accordance to the future return of the 12th Imam.

Clearly Iran getting their hands on a nuclear bomb is worrisome enough, but when the sitting leader of a nation believes it is his religious duty to wipe an entire civilization off the map to prepare for the Day of Judgement, the entire world cannot sit idly by and wait for Iran to push the EU negotiators into waiting while they develop a nuclear bomb. Ahmadinejad believes it is not only his right to have nuclear weapons, he believes it is his duty. Furthermore, he believes Allah wishes him to acquire such a weapon and use it on an entire civilization of people. But those of us in the free world continue to sit back and wait for negotiations and refuse to believe Iran seeks nuclear weapons. We have all been Chamberlainized.