Iran's nuclear program

Rational comment about Iran's nuclear program from two weeks ago, posted here as an alternative to the almost 8,000-word article in Sunday's New York Times Magazine (link also included below). The latter is dedicated almost exclusively to Israel's concerns. Much that is of crucial importance and relevance is not mentioned in the essay - further evidence of the observations made in my Jan. 14 piece - including but not limited to the following points:

• Iran has not invaded or attacked a neighbor in the modern period
• Iran is entitled to the "inalienable right ... to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes," e.g., enrich uranium for isotopes for medical research. Iran is guaranteed this right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which it is a signatory (Israel, a nuclear state, is not). Treaty text: http://www.un.org/en/conf/npt/2005/npttreaty.html

• the recent IAEA report on Iran's nuclear program was non-conclusive (see Nov. 21 blog post) regarding Iran's alleged weapons program
• US and Israeli belligerence in the region basically gave rise to the Iran-supported organizations such as Hamas and Hizballah
• US and Israeli belligerence in the region would in any case largely explain Iran's likely desired entry into the nuclear club
• the majority of Americans and Iranians (over 60 percent of both populations) favor diplomatic relations between their countries

Iran is not governed by great humanitarians by any means, but the common argument - especially within the current GOP contest - that Iran poses a regional or global threat is unconvincing, and based on ahistorical assertions of a usually ideological nature. This kind of thinking moves the situation toward cataclysm. Diplomacy, on the other hand, is an option that could very well bear fruit, and would befit a functional democracy.

http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/op-eds/crying-wolf-about-iranian-nuclear-bomb

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/magazine/will-israel-attack-iran.html