Iran is led by a corrupt and morally wrong president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who acts as a puppet for the Mullahs, the religious establishment that leads the country. Killing rioters or putting them in jail is not the best way to solve the public unrest in the country. A man who thinks that Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth, that all Jews should die, and denies the Holocaust has obviously very different views than most other world leaders. But there is only one country in the Middle East that actually has THE BOMB (atomic bomb). That’s Israel. This is used as a pretext by Ahmadinejad to try to get an atomic bomb as well. A reason why the United States has a problem with the latter is because Iran is lead by a man with such extremist views. Without the bomb, Israel would have been crushed by nearby Muslim nations years ago. Iran is also one of the world’s leading supporters of terrorism. Iran supplies weapons and supplies to dozens of violence groups around the world such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel is saying that their real enemy is not Hamas but Iran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an important Iranian politician and religious leader, on the topic of Israel’s attack in Gaza against Hezbollah, the terrorist group said, “Today the heart of Egyptians, Jordanian and the people of other Islamic countries is overwhelmed with sorrow. Isn’t it the time to feel the threat facing Islam and Muslims?” The problem is that over the last two years, countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan have come to recognize that their major regional concern is Iran, so they have common interests with Israel. Iran should not get an atomic bomb, what it could do with it… I’ll let your imagination do the rest.
These are the reasons why I think Iran wants, and is trying to produce weapons of mass destruction: A few months ago, Iran tried to gain international agreement to build uranium enrichment plants and nuclear power plants. Understand that uranium enrichment plants create uranium that contains more or less radioactive component. Below 20% of radioactive material is considered civilian and medical use. Above this, it is used strictly for military use, or bombs. Bombs with only 20% of radioactive material are called “dirty” bombs. These bombs do not create a big explosion, but release radioactive material, which can lead to many forms of disease. Iran denies that it is using uranium enrichment for military purposes and says that it will use uranium strictly for civilian purposes. "There is no explanation for that facility that is consistent with the needs of a civilian nuclear program," says assistant secretary of state PJ Crowley. The United Nations (UN) has a problem with the fact that Iran kept all these projects secret until the United States found out and brought it to the attention of the UN. The UN has found two uranium enrichment plants. The first one is old and is intended to enrich uranium to levels that are compatible with civilian uses and in large quantities. The second one, that has been recently discovered, is much smaller, much more protected, and may be used to create more enriched uranium. There could be additional plants that have not been discovered yet. Even though the UN has told Iran to stop its nuclear enrichment program, Iran has ignored it. Many countries including the United States, France, and Germany have threatened to give Iran sanctions, while countries such as Russia stay neutral. China on the other hand tries to indirectly help Iran, since it provides much of China’s energy. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei states that Iran cannot, and will not, create weapons of mass destruction because Islamic religion prohibits them from doing so. Yet there is much proof that they are trying to create nuclear warheads secretly. Former IAEA (International Atomic Energy Association) weapons inspector David Albright says, "They're pushing on things that make them look like they're going for nuclear weapons, and that's risky. If they go much further, they may bring an attack on themselves by Israel. Iran needs to be a little more careful about its actions." If Iran developed weapons of mass destruction, this could push other Middle Eastern countries into a nuclear arms race. This could have consequences on the United States and other western powers because it would create instability in a major oil production area.
On the other hand, there are reasons why Iran should get weapons of mass destruction. When the United States of American first developed weapon of mass destruction, no one stopped them from doing so. Why should the USA, or the UN, be the world’s police on weapons of mass destruction? What makes them able to tell which countries should and shouldn’t get these weapons? What if Iran came under attack? Why can’t they have weapons of mass destruction so that they can fight back? I think all these questions should be considered when deciding if Iran should get weapons of mass destruction or not. But I still think Iran should not get weapons of mass destruction. Having them is not the problem, the problem is what Iran would use them for.
To sum it up I think Iran should not get weapons of mass destruction because it has a corrupt, extremist government and has been trying to hide its nuclear program from the rest of the world. The UN and the major countries would have been less hostile towards Iran and its nuclear program if the government was more responsible and less corrupt. If Iran got weapons of mass destruction this could lead Israel to attack it. Allies would get involved, and a third world war could emerge. Since many countries have weapons of mass destruction, nuclear fallout could become a reality. Someone needs to stop Iran, now.
Sources:
"Document Sparks New Concerns About A Nuclear Iran : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. Web. 22 Mar. 2010. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121538870>.
"Iran's Supreme Leader: We Do Not Seek Atomic Bombs - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web. 22 Mar. 2010. <http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/02/19/iran.nuclear/index.html?iref=allsearch>.
Zakaria, Fareed. "What Makes Ahmadinejad Smile?" What Would Dick Do? Why Obama May Soon Find Virtue in Cheney’s Vision of Power [New York] Jan. & Feb. 2009. Print.
Majd, Hooman. "Tehran or Bust." Everything You Know About Iran Is Wrong [New York] June & July 2009. Print.
