Lately the UN has voted that Iran must be sanctioned for its pursuit to enrich uranium. Of course Tehran has been claiming that they intend to use the uranium for peaceful purposes and not for the development of weapons. But it is hard to trust such promises when they come from a country ruled by a president that not only calls for the destruction of Israel, but also denies that the holocaust ever happened. The Iranian president Ahmadinejad soon responded that it would be the Security Council that would regret this step and not Iran.
Let’s analyze the situation. If indeed Iran is planning on using the uranium for civilian use, there is of course no problem. But what happens if Iran actually becomes a nuclear force? Then the situation gets much more complicated. Then there are two forces in the Middle East who have nuclear capabilities, the second being Israel. This is troubling because Ahmadinejad has vowed to wipe the Jewish state of the face of the earth. And with a nuclear warhead that threat may become reality. And with an attack retaliation from Israel is expected. Picture the Cold war without the thousands of miles between the two countries. Because that is exactly what will happen. Iran and Israel will be like the USSR and the US. Except it this case it is not sure whether the Cuban crisis will remain nothing more then a crisis.
Even if no attack occurs, Iran will have a very powerful bargaining tool for future negotiation. A political analyst from Slovenia once said that Iran should have nuclear capabilities, because without them, it cannot fairly debate with countries that have the A-bomb. While that may be true, a country that issues threats of destruction to other states is not one that should be trusted with such a responsibility: because of the slight possibility that it may use it for violent purposes. That is the reason why the UN must nip this problem in the bud, before it gets to that critical point. Because the next Cold war may be as hot as the sun itself.
