Question

“Is a nuclear-armed Iran a global security threat?” Your initial post should be at least 400 words

Answer 1

The current age of nuclear warfare is rising as more and more nations are developing their arsenal in order to gain dominance and power over the other nations. Iran is one of the self-proclaimed enemies of the West and is a great threat to the Middle East region's stability.

Iran is one of the biggest suppliers of weapons to terror ridden regions of Israel, Palestine and other Middle-East nations. In the past Iran has conducted plethora of terror missions some of the notable being the attack in Thailand, attempt on assassination of the ambassador of Saudi Arabia in 2011 amongst others. It is known that Iran is trying to harness its nuclear energy to develop its nuclear arsenal and use it against its foes or at least threaten to use it.

Some of the recent developments in this area are as follows:

1. IRGC has asked to expedite the nuclear development and ballistic missile program with a motive to counter US President’s aggressive actions against Iran – October, 2017

2. Iran announcing that the construction of a nuclear power plant in Iran has commenced. The power plant goes by the name Bushehr 2 – November, 2017.

  Iran’s nuclear engagements and development of nuclear weaponry is a serious threat to the neighboring countries like Israel, Iraq and the Western nations. It already possesses long range missiles which can easily be used to attack Israel and the neighboring nations. One of the main concerns is cheating by Iran towards the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran has been inspired by the actions of North Korea which has revealed that breaking out of the NPT can be beneficial for them.

There have been restrictions imposed on Iran and agreements negotiated, prohibiting Iran from developing its nuclear arsenal. The agreements seek reduction in the inventory of Uranium possessed by Iran, non- production of uranium or plutonium for a period of 15 years, shut down of nuclear facilities amongst others. However, the Gulf nations and Israel are skeptical about the intentions of Iran to abide by the agreements.

What is required is the right deal / agreement against nuclear arming of all the unrest and terror generating states, not just Iran in particular because the developments and empowerments of some states inspire others to follow suit. The inclusion into the nuclear club should be strictly prohibited with the motive to deter such states from arming themselves with nuclear weaponry. Iran if allowed to expand its nuclear capability can cause huge instability in the Middle East and Western regions. Hence, it is a matter of global security to stop Iran in this respect.