WASHINGTON – March 5 is shaping up to be a crucial day in the effort to rein in Iran’s nuclear program.

In Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will convene to consider its inspectors’ latest report on Iran’s nuclear program. The last such report came closer than ever to indicting the Iranian regime for making weapons, and it helped spur stronger international sanctions against Tehran.

Several hours later, in Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will deliver a speech to an American Israel Public Affairs policy conference about what should happen next with Iran. Either before or after the AIPAC meeting, Netanyahu likely will meet with President Barack Obama to discuss Iran options.

WASHINGTON – When America’s top intelligence official said that Iran’s regime is considering attacks on U.S. soil, he cited a single incident and qualified the assessment with a “probably.”

Intelligence and law enforcement experts, however, say that the Jan. 31 warning by the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, was likely based on more than the evidence he cited.

“I would be surprised to learn a statement like that was not backed up by intelligence,” said Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

News reports notwithstanding, “There is no indication that there are any specific and/or imminent threats to Jewish communities in the U.S. at this time as a result of recent events,” according to an alert received this week by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey. Nevertheless, the alert said, that could change “should military action break out in the Middle East in coming months.”

An open attack on Iran is only one “trigger” that could raise the threat level, the alert said. “Increased pressure from sanctions, continued perceived threats from Israel, the United States, and others, sabotage against nuclear facilities, and continued alleged assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists” could also bring about an Iranian response aimed at Jewish or Israeli targets in the West, especially the United States.

In football, there are usually three B’s tailgaters keep in mind: Burgers, brats, and beer.

When it comes to Super Bowl Sunday, however, when parties move indoors, menus tend to change to less barbecue-intensive fare and foods fit more for large groups gathered around a television. And while many Super Bowl parties feature heaps of beef-laden cheesy nachos, hot wings with bleu cheese dressing, and pork, kosher football fans — and kosher caterers — have adapted.

“It’s an American holiday,” said Bobby Shorr, co-owner of Harold’s Kosher Market in Paramus. “It’s a big holiday. It’s a very big catering weekend for all kinds of delis. We look forward to it.”

It is hard to know which program will stir up the most emotion this Sunday — the Conservative movement’s World Wide Wrap, or the Giants and the Patriots going at it in the Super Bowl.

At Temple Emanu-El in Closter, youngsters will be singing original “Wrap songs” to celebrate the morning event, a global celebration of the mitzvah of t’fillin; while at the Fair Lawn Jewish Center/Congregation B’nai Israel (FLJC/CBI), the same men’s club that sponsors the Wrap early in the day will be hosting a Super Bowl party later on.

It is no coincidence that the two events fall on the same day.

In a country where “football” means soccer, you would think the Super Bowl would be a relic of the past for U.S. émigrés. However, for many of them the annual NFL championship game is cause for a party, complete with nachos and subs.

Steve Leibowitz, president of American Football in Israel, estimates that hundreds of fans will attend dozens of Super Bowl parties in Israel as the New England Patriots and New York Giants face each other on Feb. 5 — even though kickoff translates to 1:30 in the morning Israel time.

“In the old days, I used to organize Super Bowl parties at hotels because there was no way to watch at home,” said Leibowitz, a native New Yorker. “It’s kind of like wanting to celebrate Thanksgiving — it’s a part of the culture you grew up in, that you could take part in even if you were Jewish. It’s another reason for a party, but here it’s just at a very inconvenient hour. People arrange to come late to work or school the next day.”

When the New York Giants and New England Patriots take the field for Sunday’s Super Bowl, most of the country will focus on the athletes wearing the jerseys. However, from a Jewish perspective, the story behind these football franchises comes from those wearing suits in the owner’s box.

The Giants are co-owned by the Tisch family, with film and television producer Steve Tisch, son of Bob, as the team’s chairman and executive vice president. Bob’s brother, Larry, was the father of Jim — former president of the UJA Federation of New York and former board chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Jim’s wife, Merryl, chairs the board of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty.

On the New England side, owner Robert Kraft’s wife Myra — who passed away last July — served as chair of the Boston-based Combined Jewish Philanthropies’ (CJP) board of directors and was twice co-chair of CJP’s annual fundraising campaign.

With less than a minute to play in the biggest football game of his life, Jewish punter Josh Miller wanted a sandwich.

“I was hungry,” he said in an interview, recalling one of his many thoughts from Super Bowl XXXIX, when his New England Patriots edged the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21.

Miller played an important role in the Patriots’ third NFL championship. With time running out, he booted the ball with enough backspin that it was downed at the Eagles’ four-yard line with 46 seconds left in the game. Before such a pressure-filled moment, Miller recalled the advice of head coach Bill Belichick, long regarded as one of the NFL’s top minds.

“He called me over and said, ‘Hey, man, just catch [the snap] and get rid of it,’” Miller said.