It is Iran's right to develop nuclear energy, America!

If Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons, no country should be able to stop them. It's their right, not a privilege.

Asad Shabbir January 06, 2014
Hiroshima and Nagasaki - two words that evoke nothing but the destructive horror which ensued after the United States attacked Japan. There is not much to say apart from the fact that the results from the explosion can still be seen today. Those who survived diseases from the blast produced offspring with mutations. Humanity was killed that day as the radioactive footprint was embedded on Japanese soil.

While the US may, arguably, be the most powerful state in the world, it had no right to engage in nuclear war. Some might say that it was, in fact, a ‘war’. Very well, but then why does the US persist on interfering in the running of other countries? It is currently on the forefront of attempting to dislodge the Iranian ambitions of establishing nuclear power as an energy source on the accusation that Iran may use the technology to make weapons.

Let us not talk in rhetorical semantics; even if Iran is building weapons of mass destruction, the US has only the authority to report this to the United Nations (UN) and urge the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to investigate the issue. Furthermore, economic sanctions may be enforced, which have been in place for several years.

A while back, the new Iranian administration participated in ground-breaking talks as a nuclear deal was reached in which Iran agreed to halt all enrichments, reduce production and nurture transparency regarding all their nuclear pursuits. As talks continue, the US will keep enforcing economic sanctions on Iran but will ease down if they deem that Iran has held up their end of the deal.

While most of the international community has welcomed this deal, it is a disgrace to see the US using its power in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to force Iran off the nuclear road. As one of the most powerful states, the US feels it has the responsibility of playing the role of the world police.

Is it justified to say that Iran is unstable and that the nuclear power could fall into the wrong hands when you yourself handed weapons for the Iraq war or, when you handed weapons to the Al-Qaeda and unnamed rebels in the Middle East?  Is Iran even worthy of possessing nuclear weapons?

I don’t trust the Americans with nuclear weapons. However, their power and stature on the global platform allows me no choice but to trust that they will not engage in nuclear war. Sadly, it is not by choice but by a lack thereof that the US can carry out ridiculously inhumane activities and employ intimidation to make sure nobody gets in the path of Uncle Sam.

It seems as if the United States has two types of foreign policy; the first revolves around spying on over 40 countries and collecting large amounts of data on everybody and their grandmothers. The second employs ‘kinetic military action’ (read: Obama) which is not war entirely but does involve drone attacks which kill countless civilians. Wielding these policies, along with the natural grandeur and its perks, the US makes a formidable global guardian.

Countries like Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan have suffered time and again due to political inadequacies or just by design. However, the one country that has remained tough on its stance is Iran, regardless of its economic isolation.

In reality, Iran is a signatory of the treaty of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and has shown absolutely no intentions of developing nuclear weapons. Their commitment, at the aforementioned talks, shows that they do not plan on engaging in weapon development. However, I think it is incredibly insulting for a sovereign country to have its arm twisted into allowing the accusatory IAEA to investigate their nuclear facilities and sniff for weapons.

Sadly, times change and with pressures mounting, it seems as if Iran’s resolve is fading away. Whether Iran will stand by the deal is irrelevant but in the global village, the new administration of the country shows considerable leaps to escape the isolated zone that Iran has been living in for years. Only time will tell how this saga will end, if it ever ends that is.

But what I feel the US needs to understand, considering its own barrage of nuclear weapons and energy, that it is not a privilege for Iran to develop nuclear energy, it is their right.

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WRITTEN BY:
Asad Shabbir

The writer is a LUMS graduate, a TEDX speaker, and a novelist.

The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (22)

unbelievable | 10 years ago | Reply Issue has never been about peaceful development of nuclear power - that's Muslim rubbish which has zero support. The issue has always been about Iran developing technology who's sole purpose is nuclear weapons - they have been caught lying so many times that even their allies Russia and China no longer support them and have supported sanctions.
Asif | 10 years ago | Reply Another LUMUN bacha thinking global dynamics is restricted to what he read in his study-guides.
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