JERUSALEM, Sep. 13 (Xinhua) -- Nobody seems to be thinking about a nuclear Iran or a possible missiles attack on the streets of Tel Aviv, Israel, this week. Everything seems normal, and mundane urban life seems to continue its daily routine in the " city that never stops."

However, there is still a tangible threat of a looming war with Iran. Or at least, that is what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have tried to signal over the past few months: prepare for war.

With Netanyahu and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad exchanging mutual threats over Tehran's nuclear program, and an unstable situation both in neighboring Syria and post-upheaval Egypt, the eruption of a regional war is a distinct possibility.

If that is the case, Tel Aviv is definitely in the line of fire.

One of the country's most important strategic facility is located in the heart of Tel Aviv, at the center of the Jewish state's busiest metropolis: the headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and the Defense Ministry.

Last February, ministry sources admitted that Tel Aviv, would be targeted in any possible attack. Their analysis mainly referred to GPS-guided missiles and M-300 missiles developed by Syria that could easily be transferred to Lebanon's Hezbollah, Iran's " closest ally," and which are believed to have an accuracy of 500 meters.

Some experts believe that there are upwards of 50,000 missiles pointed towards Israel that could be launched during an attack. " Fire will be directed towards Tel Aviv," one official was quoted saying by Israel Defense magazine.

So how prepared is Tel Aviv for such an attack?

"I'd be lying if I'd say I'm not scared," Oren Livne, 38, told Xinhua this week when asked what he thought of the preparations for a possible war.

"I went to get the gas masks they distributed, even though I know it's not really going to help," said Livne, an engineer and married father of two children. "Maybe a few years ago I'd be less scared but now it's a different story. I have a family and I must plan against the worst-case scenario."

While Livne said he opposes a war, he said "I don't think that anyone is asking for my opinion. I just wish that the politicians would listen to us for a change."

"It's not a war we want. If anything, it's a war they want. I'm scared for my children's future," he said.

However, he seems to be the minority. Most young Tel Avivians do not think that there will be a war with Iran, or have just managed to block it out of their mind, so as not to disturb their daily routine.

Einat Feder, 29, is a video editor and social activist. She does not believe that a war with Iran would actually take place -- she thinks it is all political spin.

"I remember that every year growing up there was talk of a war with this country and that country; I remember growing up with this fear," she recalled.

"They keep pumping our heads up with how dangerous Iran is and how we should fight it," she said. "But in fact what they're doing is tricking us to think there's an acute danger, so we'll add more and more money to the defense budget."

"Life here is based on an existential threat; we were always told that we can be attacked at any given moment," she mused. "But at some point I realized, the central issue at hand is the economy and that this is just a smoke screen."

Jacob Cohen, 31, moved to Tel Aviv from the United States two years ago and is studying Hebrew. He told Xinhua that "I sleep with my passport and some case in a drawer near my bed. Just in case," he admitted.

"My parents are very worried. When you hear about Israel and this whole war threat outside of Israel -- it sounds more scary."

"I've never experienced a war, I don't even want to know how that feels like. But from the websites and what I picked up from friends and from my surroundings, it doesn't really seem to be a war going to happen here any time soon," he said.

"I learned in Israel that there may be a lot of talk which may not necessarily be true. But in any case, I have this precaution mainly to reassure my parents," he said.

Meanwhile, however, City Hall says they are prepared if and when such an attack were to take place.

Recently, the municipality announced the completion of a makeover of 60 underground parking lots to double as bomb shelters, in case of such a missiles attack.

Municipality officials say the subterranean facilities' 850,000 square meters could shelter some 800,000 people, while rockets rain down overhead.

However, in sharp contrast to the city's touts, the state comptroller's office this week declared that the city is unprepared for an emergency, citing what it said was flawed planning.

The report noted problems with the public shelters, equipment shortages and a lack of access to bomb shelters for the disabled. The report said the city "lacks planning" in the case of an emergency, a claim which municipal officials quickly dismissed.

"We engage in preparations day and night," one official told Xinhua.

"We hold drills; we have consultations about shelter space and we try to make sure every person in the city will find a place to take shelter in case of such an attack," he said.

"We are at a high state of awareness," the official contended, adding "we hold drills on a regular-basis and will be ready to provide everything possible to our citizens if and when a war was to come."