There is no basis to fear Iran, other than an intrinsic suspicion and hostility against everything that is different from a Judeo-Christian worldview
A single atom is coming in the way of a peace agreement between Iran and its challengers — the US and Israel.
US President Donald Trump has repeated ad nauseam that Iran has to give up its nuclear programme, hand over its existing enriched uranium stock of 440 kilograms and the war is done. But Iran has steadfastly refused.
Is Iran justified in sticking to its nuclear programme? Or, turning around the question, why should Iran not have nuclear capability or even N-weapons? And what gives the US and Israel the right to demand that Iran not go nuclear?
Is it because Iran will start using its nuclear prowess to bomb other nations? Is there any indication that Iran is a warmonger, and that a nuclear weapon in the hands of its government will endanger the rest of the world? There is no evidence to this effect.
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The arguments put forth by proponents of this position, that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons, include Tehran’s support for Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis and erstwhile Bashar al-Assad’s Syria. This axis, according to the argument fronted by Israel, is what makes Iran a threat.
Trump may be crying hoarse for Iran to scrap its nuclear programme, but he should remember that it was his nation that had dropped atomic bombs on Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Iran justifies the axis as resistance to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. And Tehran says its alliance is similar to that between Israel and the US.
Israel's insecurity with Iran
Over the years, the dominant media narrative pushed by the Western media makes it appear as if Iran has committed some kind of transgression by creating an axis in the region. As if Iran has no right, as an independent nation, to form its own alliances and counter Israel’s diktat in the region. Fundamentally, it is Israel that feels insecure with Iran, especially since Tehran backed off from recognising the Jewish state since its popular revolution in 1979.
As if to confirm Israel’s fears, some of its hawkish political leaders, including former Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have even questioned the existence of Israel.
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For Israel to feel insecure is understandable, but to extrapolate it to Iran’s nuclear programme is a leap of faith. As for the US, it has never been threatened by Iran, yet it parrots Israel’s line and presents itself as a potential victim.
There are already several countries in the world that possess nuclear weapons capability, if not an arsenal of nuclear weapons. And all of them have their pet peeves and outright enemies. But none, except the US, has so far used it. Trump may be crying hoarse for Iran to scrap its nuclear programme, but he should remember that it was his nation that had dropped atomic bombs on Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Who can possess nuclear weapons?
One view is that Iran should never possess nuclear weapons capability as it is headed by an Islamic theocratic dispensation. And that, despite calling itself a democracy, the final call on all matters is in the hands of unelected members of the Guardian Council that can overrule decisions taken in the Iranian parliament.
Again, there is little or no basis for fear just on this score, other than an intrinsic suspicion and hostility against everything that is different from a Judeo-Christian mindset.
In an ideal world, no one should possess nuclear weapons. India, for example, reasoned that those that already possessed N-weapons, including the US and (now) Russia, must first destroy their arsenal and create a level-playing field. This was India’s consistent stand since the time of the Indira Gandhi government, as a result of which, it never signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT).
Mired in hypocrisy
Nuclear weapons and the capability to make them are mired in hypocrisy and ruled by a sense of power rather than justice and fairness. This has been exemplified by the US for long.
Though Iran officially holds the view that it is using nuclear capability only to generate electricity and for other peaceful purposes, sceptics question, why if that were so, it has enriched uranium to 60 per cent.
Iran, for instance, taunted the US for overlooking India’s refusal to sign the NPT and going ahead with the nuclear deal in 2008. This was the time when the George W Bush administration in Washington was applying maximum pressure on Tehran to give up its nuclear programme. And, paradoxically, Iran was a signatory to the NPT.
The other example of the US’s duplicity was in overlooking Israel’s nuclear capability. Israel, which developed its nuclear weapons programme in the 1960s on the sly, was excused by the US. And, in an arrangement between the two, Israel, as a policy, decided never to comment on whether it has nuclear capability or possesses nuclear weapons.
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But, it is an open secret that Israel is a N-state, with its covert programme exposed by Israeli whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu in 1986 — with photographic evidence. Iran, along with others in West Asia, has questioned why Israel can have nuclear weapons while others in the region cannot.
Iran and its Islamic neighbours
Another fear over Iran turning into a nuclear power is that it might trigger a nuclear race in the region, especially Tehran’s neighbour and rival, Saudi Arabia — given their mutual rivalry.
The apprehensions of the US and Israel are shared by Islamic Arab nations in the region, who do not want Iran to possess a nuclear weapon, largely due to a sectarian divide. US officials claim they get requests from the Gulf nations and others to ensure that Iran does not acquire N-weapons’ capability. This points to deeper historical cultural differences and a running feud between Shia Iran and its Sunni neighbours.
On the contrary, given the very animosity that exists between Iran and, ironically, its Islamic neighbours, Tehran feels compelled to protect itself by being nuclear-capable. The invasion by Iraq in 1980 that led to the eight-year war between them validates this fear.
Though Iran officially holds the view that it is using nuclear capability only to generate electricity and for other peaceful purposes, sceptics question, why if that were so, it has enriched uranium to 60 per cent.
According to data, uranium enriched to around 5 per cent is used in electricity generation, and to 20 per cent in advanced research reactors. Up to 85 per cent, the enriched uranium can be used only for limited use to test medical isotopes and for testing materials. It is only at 90 per cent that the enriched uranium turns into a potent material for use in N-weapons.
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Iran is yet to reach this level of enrichment, with International Atomic Energy Agency officials saying it is a matter of a few months before it touches 90 per cent.
Iran's 2015 deal with US
Under the nuclear deal in 2015 signed with the then US president Barack Obama, Iran had agreed to hand over its enriched uranium to Russia or any other neutral country and place its nuclear facilities under international inspection. Trump unilaterally abrogated the agreement in 2018.
And, now after two rounds of military strikes and a war on Iran, the US President is demanding the same, though he wants it to appear different.
But Iran is in no mood to oblige as it impinges on its sovereignty. However, with its allies like China and Pakistan, besides its Gulf neighbours, pressuring it to agree to a compromise, it would be interesting to see how a peace agreement can be hammered out, given the presence of the stubborn nuclear obstacle in it.
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