Why was it so important to de-fang Iran's nuke ambitions. For the simple reason that unlike say China, or Russia or even North Korea which neither of them would risk retaliatory self-annihilation if they attacked first with nukes, the situation is different for Iran where the mullahs exhort followers and possibly the whole population to be prepared to martyr themselves. So that removes any concern about self annihilation. I recall a Middle East scholar of old citing a parable of sorts, it was along the lines of a snake wanted to cross a river but could not swim. The snake then saw a frog and asked the frog if he could piggy back on the frog to get to the other side. The frog, though naturally fearful , obliged. As they were getting close to the other side the snake then bit the frog, the frog asked why did you do that, the snake said I can't help myself its what comes naturally to me. The frog died and the snake drowned as a martyr to the snake species.
