Apr 13 2009
Iran Welcomes Nuclear Talks
The six main players in the Iranian nuclear talks, Russia, China, France, Germany, the UK, and the US, invited Tehran for new talks on its nuclear program. The response by the Iranian nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, was one of welcome. Iran’s President, Ahmadinejad, has mentioned before that he was willing to have nuclear talks, as long as they were respectful to his country. Obviously, Iran is not interested in my-way-or-the-highway negotiations. They’d like to have their voice, and their interests heard as well. The Persian Republic has for some time insisted that it is enriching uranium because it wants to develop nuclear energy, not nuclear war. The Supreme Leader has been talking about using nuclear energy for decades - Iran, an oil producer, is an energy state. It is not that unrealistic for them to understand the concept of finite energy sources, of which their economy is based. If they want to emerge in the future as a powerful nation, they have to remain an energy nation - thus nuclear energy.
There is of course another possibility - that they are secretly trying to build nuclear weaponry. Which would be logical for their own self-interests as well, as they are the greatest threat to nuclear-armed Israel, a country with a threatening stance towards Tehran, and a penchant for war. Iran’s leaders have refused to recognize Israel as a state, as they believe it belongs to the Palestinians, who originally lived in the area - a concept that would make the Jewish people living in Israel very uncomfortable and defensive. Iran has been an enemy of the US in the past as well, particularly during the previous administration, when former President Bush called out Iran as part of the axis of evil, and many hawks in the Pentagon spoke of actually entertaining the possibility of attacking Iran. Iran, just like North Korea, launched its missile in February, putting a satellite into orbit. A move that, just like Pyongyang, shows the world that Tehran is capable, and is advancing technologically and militarily. But are these pure acts of threat and potential aggression - or more of nationalism? Iran’s launch was on the 30th anniversary of the Islamist Revolution, and was a display of Iran’s technology, in a country, like many nations, that ties its scientific and technological advancements to its place in the international pecking order.
There are two possibilities, and the truth to Iran and the nuclear question likely lies somewhere in between. Talks between the six nations and Iran have potential to advance the entire world. If Iran can feel comfortable enough to work with the international community, perhaps allow investigations into their nuclear program, then the rest of the world can dissolve the ‘big bad wolf’ connotations they have for Iran. The six need to be respectful to Iran, however. What if Iran doesn’t want investigations, not because they are creating weapons, but because they don’t want their energy technology stolen? There are so many possibilities aside from the ones that each nation has been shoving down their people’s throats. Hopefully we as a world are mature enough that our leaders can have a real conversation.
