Goodwill Shopping: Iran’s Nuclear Gamble
- Yara Altan
- 21 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Nuclear Talks between Iran and the United States have once again brought the issue of nuclear proliferation to the global forefront. Having all the hallmarks of a farce, this game of cynical diplomacy ignores the most glaring truth: Iran isn’t simply negotiating to survive, but strategically positioning itself for power. And the West? Too tired to call out the reality: nuclear proliferation is no longer a theory, it is the present.
The Perils of Non-Proliferation Hypocrisy
To quote a genius: non-proliferation is a joke. An entire system built on the colonially sick premise that a few countries – conveniently in the West – are allowed to hold weapons of mass destruction, while lecturing the rest of the world on the dangers of uranium possession, is a failed ideology. The Iran talks, whether successful or not, expose the hypocrisy that underpins the entire non-proliferation regime. Iran has been demonised for its nuclear aspirations, while nuclear-armed states strut around as though their stocks make the world a safe place.
Israel has consistently expressed its willingness and ability to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities, much the same way it did to Syria in 2007, with several sabotage attempts and assassinations aimed at Iran’s nuclear experts in recent years. The United States, following the ethos of Trump’s second term, has rarely wavered from its commitment to instigate violence in the region, obediently stepping into the legacy set by past administrations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The truth is, Iran’s nuclear program is a direct attack on the facade of Western imperialism that has survived the global hierarchy so far. A second Muslim country to be potentially equipped with nuclear weapons is not only a tip towards power shifts in the Global South, but also a deterrence against the otherwise nefariously ambiguous Middle Eastern policy held by the NATO states, and the United States at large.
Here is the kicker: Iran is smart. They know that the longer they dangle the tiniest possibility of a deal, the more leverage they get, both regionally and internationally.
Regional Dominoes and Western Delusion
The real issue is that Iran’s nuclear ambitions are not a local problem, but a global time bomb. Rather than being an isolated case, it is a signal to every other regional player that nuclear arms are no longer an option, but a necessity to be pursued. Consider Saudi Arabia, quietly stockpiling uranium, or Turkey, where Erdogan is already talking about a “regional nuclear balance.” They are waiting for Iran to cross the nuclear threshold so they can follow suit, and no amount of diplomatic niceties can prevent it.
This is also where the United States’ naive approach comes crashing down. If Washington truly believes that it can prevent Iran’s nuclearisation through economic sanctions and half-hearted negotiations, it is living in the past. Iran has long survived decades of economic warfare, proxy wars, and international isolation. For Iran, these talks are merely an insurance policy, nothing to be afraid of.
As the United States gets bogged down in its own failed legacies and religiously mandated executive orders, the world around shifts, in both its interests and what can be obtained without American coercion. Iran, set to join strong allies in China and Russia, is a reflection of the fading influence the United States holds in the Middle East.
Not only is Iran playing the long game, but in doing so, it is effectively decentering the West in its own house. As the Talks progress, the real question isn’t what becomes of it, outside of the usual egocentric sanctions, but how long the West will take to realise that it no longer controls the fate of the world. Or history, for that matter.
The new era of nuclear parity is here, and Iran refuses to be a spectator anymore.
Photo Credit:
[Header]: Hasan Sarbakhshian/AP
[Embedded 1]: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty images
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