Nuclear Proliferation: The Islamic Republic of Iran

Since the early 2000s considerable attention has been focused on Iran's nuclear ambition. Several Western powers accuse the Islamic Republic of developing nuclear weapons capability. Iran categorically denies these accusations and insists that it seeks nuclear power for peaceful purposes. This essay examines Iran's nuclear program. In the first part the lessons learned from other countries' experiences are analyzed. The literature on nuclear proliferation suggests that countries seek nuclear weapons for security reasons and political leverage and prestige. On the other hand, leaders are persuaded to give up their nuclear ambition as a result of domestic changes, the impact of nonproliferation regime, and U.S. policy. In the second part of this essay these theoretical models are applied to the Iranian case. The study discusses the argument for and against Iran's nuclear ambition. It advocates a multilateral and multi-dimensional approach to deal with the nuclear impasse.