Let's do a quick comparison on some major economic indicators for Israel and Iraq (from the CIA World Factbook):
| Israel | Iran | |
| GDP per capita | $25,000 | $8,400 |
| Unemployment rate | 9% | 11.2% |
| Population below poverty line | 21% | 40% |
| Gini index (rate of inequality between richest and poorest) | 34 | 43 |
| Inflation | 1.3% | 13.5% |
| Industries | high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, construction, metals products, chemical products, plastics, diamond cutting, textiles, footwear | petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabrication, armaments |
And these numbers are from 2005 and earlier. 2006 was a spectacular year for the Israeli economy, especially considering a war and constant political turmoil.
Meanwhile, Iran has a 40% poverty rate. Even though Iranians outnumber Israelis by 10-1, Israel has more cell phones!
Which country seems more likely to collapse?