What If Iran Acquired the Nuclear Bomb? A Case for Uncomfortable Diplomacy Over Catastrophe
This article explores the geopolitical implications of Iran potentially acquiring nuclear weapons, arguing that the international community may need to shift from prevention to a strategy of containment. It suggests that living with a nuclear-armed Iran could be a more stable alternative to perpetual conflict.
Why it matters
It challenges the conventional wisdom of non-proliferation policy, offering a controversial perspective on regional security and diplomatic realism.
Amid US and Israeli strikes aimed at preventing Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons, sovereignty and security have become an urgent priority for Tehran. This has been reinforced with peace negotiations stuck in limbo while Tehran and Washington have just exchanged the biggest round of attacks in a month. Iran has moved from a state of having the potential to acquire nuclear weapons to realising that the lack of it may mean unsuccessful regime survival. If Iran acquired a nuclear bomb in these hostile circumstances, the question confronting the United States would no longer be how to prevent a nuclear Iran. It would be how to live with one.
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