US Think Tank: Iran Will Balance Middle East If Ever Moves towards
Military N. Capability
15:53 | 2013-05-18
Nuclear
TEHRAN (FNA)- RAND Corporation, a Washington-based think tank, ruled
out the possibility of Iran posing any threat to the US and Israel
even if it ever moves towards the acquisition of a military nuclear
capability, saying that "a nuclear-armed Iran" will rather help create
a power balance in the region.
Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop
nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while
they have never presented any corroborative evidence to substantiate
their allegations.
Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for
peaceful purposes only, stressing that the country has always pursued
a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian
population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.
And now, RAND Corporation says that even a nuclear-armed Iran will not
pose a fundamental threat to the US and its regional allies, including
Israel and the Persian Gulf Arab monarchies.
The US think tank noted that if Iran ever moves towards a military
nuclear capability it will help bring about a balance to the Middle
East.
The acquisition by Tehran of nuclear weapons will be intended to deter
an attack by hostile powers, presumably Israel and the United States,
rather than seeking aggressive purposes, the Inter Press Service (IPS)
cited a 50-page report by the Washington-based RAND Corporation as
saying.
"Iran's development of nuclear weapons will enhance its ability to
deter an external attack, but it will not enable it to change the
Middle East's geopolitical order in its own favor," Alireza Nader, an
international policy analyst at RAND, told the IPS.
The report reached several conclusions all of which generally portray
Iran as a rational actor in its international relations.
The 50-page report concluded that Tehran will be unlikely to use
nuclear weapons against other countries.
Despite the rules enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium
enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council
(UNSC) sanctions and the unilateral western embargos for turning down
West's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment.
Tehran has dismissed West's demands as politically-tainted and
illogical, stressing that sanctions and pressures merely consolidate
Iranians' national resolve to continue the path.
Tehran has repeatedly said that it considers its nuclear case closed
as it has come clean of IAEA's questions and suspicions about its past
nuclear activities.
From: A. Papazian
Military N. Capability
15:53 | 2013-05-18
Nuclear
TEHRAN (FNA)- RAND Corporation, a Washington-based think tank, ruled
out the possibility of Iran posing any threat to the US and Israel
even if it ever moves towards the acquisition of a military nuclear
capability, saying that "a nuclear-armed Iran" will rather help create
a power balance in the region.
Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop
nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while
they have never presented any corroborative evidence to substantiate
their allegations.
Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for
peaceful purposes only, stressing that the country has always pursued
a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian
population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.
And now, RAND Corporation says that even a nuclear-armed Iran will not
pose a fundamental threat to the US and its regional allies, including
Israel and the Persian Gulf Arab monarchies.
The US think tank noted that if Iran ever moves towards a military
nuclear capability it will help bring about a balance to the Middle
East.
The acquisition by Tehran of nuclear weapons will be intended to deter
an attack by hostile powers, presumably Israel and the United States,
rather than seeking aggressive purposes, the Inter Press Service (IPS)
cited a 50-page report by the Washington-based RAND Corporation as
saying.
"Iran's development of nuclear weapons will enhance its ability to
deter an external attack, but it will not enable it to change the
Middle East's geopolitical order in its own favor," Alireza Nader, an
international policy analyst at RAND, told the IPS.
The report reached several conclusions all of which generally portray
Iran as a rational actor in its international relations.
The 50-page report concluded that Tehran will be unlikely to use
nuclear weapons against other countries.
Despite the rules enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium
enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council
(UNSC) sanctions and the unilateral western embargos for turning down
West's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment.
Tehran has dismissed West's demands as politically-tainted and
illogical, stressing that sanctions and pressures merely consolidate
Iranians' national resolve to continue the path.
Tehran has repeatedly said that it considers its nuclear case closed
as it has come clean of IAEA's questions and suspicions about its past
nuclear activities.
From: A. Papazian