Iran’s Nuclear Ambition

The greatest and most destructive war in the history of mankind is on our doorstep. This coming war will not be confined to a specific region or small set of countries, but will impact every person on the face of the Earth. Events that prove this war is brewing are happening even now. The power that is going to trigger this war is rising today.

In spite of global opposition, Iran’s nuclear program continues to thunder forward. In October the nation revealed that it already has the potential to produce about 100-120 kilograms of enriched uranium. This is enough uranium for three to five nuclear warheads.

Since February 2003, Europe’s and America’s attempts to halt Iran’s nuclear program through negotiation have failed. Even the agreement the European Union’s Big Three—the UK, France and Germany—wheedled out of Iran in November included only a temporary suspension of uranium enrichment—a voluntary move aimed at building confidence. Iran has done nothing but lie, cheat and misrepresent facts regarding its nuclear ambitions.

This comparatively small yet ambitious nation continues to boldly defy two of the world’s greatest powers. Threats of economic sanctions, prosecution and even invasion loom over the heads of Iranian officials, yet President Muhammad Khatami persists with the program. Why? Thousands of U.S. soldiers occupy next-door Iraq, and still Iran is not afraid. Why not?

For Iran to be prepared to risk so much, the benefits it perceives from such a program must be impressive. What does Iran stand to gain by becoming a nuclear power?

Iran simply views the short-term risks as insignificant compared to the long-term benefits of gaining nuclear status, particularly the growth in the nation’s regional and international power.

Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons is essentially a push to establish itself as the preeminent nation in the Islamic world, and as a recognized and influential player in international politics. Its drive for nukes is simply a drive to become the dominant Islamic nation.

While Iran’s relations with Europe and America are declining, its defiance of these nations is fostering great respect and admiration from surrounding Islamic and Middle Eastern nations.

Proactive, Not Reactive

Many people recognize that Iran’s claim that its nuclear program is intended solely for energy purposes is a cloak to hide its real motives. Few analysts, however, can explain the true reasons for the program. Here are the two most widely reported purposes. While both are credible, the fundamental reason for Iran’s quest for nuclear status has largely been overlooked by the mainstream media.

First, some claim that Iran is threatened by Israel’s nuclear weapons and is simply seeking to counter this threat by acquiring its own cache of nukes. Jonathan Power argued this point in the International Herald Tribune: “Israel’s nuclear weapons are politically unusable and militarily irrelevant, given the real threats it faces. But they have been very effective in allowing India, Pakistan, Libya … and now Iran to think that they, too, had good reason to build a nuclear deterrent” (September 22).

Mr. Power is essentially saying that Iran’s desire for nukes is simply a reaction to external pressures in the region. This argument, that Iran is being forced to acquire nuclear weapons because of the nuclear threat it faces from Israel, is shallow and largely unsubstantiated. The motivation behind Iran’s nuclear program is about far more than trying to counter what Power calls Israel’s “politically unusable and militarily irrelevant” nuclear weapons.

The second reason many believe Iran is seeking nuclear weapons is that the nation is trying to counter U.S. hegemony in the region. Washington Post columnist George Will wrote, “Iran lives in a dangerous neighborhood, near four nuclear powers … and the large military presence of another, the infidel United States. Iran has seen how the pursuit of nuclear weapons allows the ramshackle regime of a tin-pot country such as North Korea to rivet the world’s attention. Iran knows that if Saddam Hussein had acquired such weapons, he would still be in power …” (September 23; emphasis mine throughout). Will is reasoning here that one of the main purposes of Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons is to counter American presence in the region. He even indicates that the Iranians believe Saddam would not have been overthrown if he had possessed nuclear weapons; therefore Iran needs to attain nuclear weapons in order to avoid being overthrown by “the infidel United States.”

Both reasons for Iran’s nuclear program are plausible and logical. But is there more to the story? The stakes cannot be higher for Tehran. The nation must stand to gain more from having nukes than simply an ability to counter the threat from Israel and America. In fact, Iran has heightened the possibility of violence from both Israel and the U.S. by pushing its nuclear program. Why is Iran so dedicated in its drive for nuclear power?

The fundamental reason behind Iran’s nuclear program is explained in the pages of your Bible. When combined with analysis of recent news events, the Bible clearly reveals the purpose behind, and the future of, Iran’s nuclear program. The truth is, this program is far more proactive than reactive.

Filling the Islamic Power Vacuum

The Islamic world is in disarray right now. Among the Islamic nations, unlike other peoples, no country stands above the rest as the major influence. The West has America. Europe has Germany. Asia has China, with Japan on its heels. Yet on the surface, it appears that no one Islamic nation has inarguable and definitive influence over the rest.

Internal political disunity holds Pakistan back from playing a stronger role in regional affairs. Libya has scrapped its nuclear program and is complying with U.S. requests. Saudi Arabia is staving off terrorist attacks and fighting for political stability. Iraq is a clutter. Syria is trying its best to fly under the radar in order to avoid U.S. scrutiny. Afghanistan remains unstable. Jordan is influenced too much by the West to be respected as a leader within the Islamic world. Across the Indian Ocean, Islamic Indonesia is in political confusion. There is no mistaking that a significant power vacuum exists in the Islamic world right now.

Iran seeks to fill this void.

Through its nuclear program, Tehran wants to demonstrate its power to the Islamic peoples. It would gain respect from surrounding nations, not only by having an arsenal of nuclear weapons, but by boldly defying the “Great Satan” and European powers. Iran’s nuclear program is a proactive attempt by the nation to build its reputation and become the clear-cut leader of the Islamic peoples.

Stratfor’s analysts recognized this in a recent article. “For all the complexity surrounding Iran’s negotiations with the West—the United States and the European Union’s Big Three states—one thing is clear: Iran is trying to shed its status as a rogue state and re-enter the international community. One of the obstacles to the Islamic republic’s escaping the realm of international pariahs is the objective of Tehran’s movers and shakers to catapult their country into a major regional or global player. For the clerical regime, the acquisition of nuclear weapons seems to be the preferred method of attaining great power status” (November 10).

The following description from the respected Middle East Quarterly succinctly sums up Iran’s objectives: “There is a vision and a method to Iran’s policies. In the words of Mohsen Rezai, secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council, Iran believes it is destined to become the ‘center of international power politics’ in the post-Saddam Hussein Middle East. … Under the rubric of ‘deterrent defense,’ Iran is exploiting U.S. preoccupation with Iraq to build capabilities that will establish its hegemony in its immediate neighborhood and enhance its role across the Middle East. Iran’s moves, if unchecked, will create a grave and growing challenge to U.S. aims in the region. At stake are nothing less than the geopolitical balance in the Middle East and the long-term achievement of U.S. goals, from stability in Iraq to regional peace” (Spring 2004).

Iran’s nuclear program is its primary instrument for establishing hegemony in the Middle East. Upon becoming the sole possessor of nuclear weapons in the region, watch for Iran to increase its demand for respect and support from its Islamic neighbors.

In a March 1997 research paper for the Air Command and Staff College, Col. Richard M. Perry wrote, “… Iran wants to retain its form of traditionalism but at the same time be recognized as a legitimate power within the region. … Iran considers its own role in reviving Islam as central. … Iran sees itself as the leader of traditional Islam, and as such, requires a measure of strength to back up its discourse. Possessing nuclear weapons gives a state both a ‘voice’ in determining events within the region and a means to ‘retain’ its own Islamic identity ….”

Further on, Perry wrote, “To drive events in the Middle East, Iran will have to continue to modernize its forces as well as build a viable and deliverable nuclear weapons capability.” Almost eight years after that was written, it is clear that this is precisely the path Iran has taken.

Tehran has not only made great strides toward developing nuclear capabilities, it has successfully built and launched long-range ballistic missiles. It is quickly becoming the Islamists’ regional king.

Policy of Prestige

Renowned international relations expert Hans Morgenthau coined a specific term for the foreign policy that Iran is pursing through its nuclear weapons program. He called it the “policy of prestige.”

In Politics Among Nations, Morgenthau spoke of three basic patterns in the foreign policy of nations: a policy seeking to keep power, to increase power, or to demonstrate power—the last of which is the policy of prestige. Through its nuclear program, Iran is clearly seeking to build its reputation for power and to demonstrate power.

Iran’s desire for national prestige has been evident for years. Notice this statement from a 1992 New York Times article: “… Iran expects to further its greater ambition of being the most important regional power in the Persian Gulf, a long-held foreign-policy objective” (Nov. 7, 1992). There is no mistaking the fact that Iran is grinding its way toward that goal.

Morgenthau explained, “Besides the practices of diplomacy, the policy of prestige uses military demonstrations as a means to achieve its purpose.” When Iran test-fired its new long-range Shahab-3 missile in October—a weapon that puts Israel within striking range, Australia’s Special Broadcasting Service (October 21) called it “a deliberate show of military strength ahead of the negotiations at the iaea”—the International Atomic Energy Agency, the body monitoring whether Iran is complying with its restrictions. Iran’s “deliberate show of military strength,” just days before it was due to have meetings with Europe regarding its advanced nuclear program, was an obvious demonstration of its resolve to pursue its nuclear goals.

Continue to look for a group of Middle Eastern Islamic nations to unite behind Iran and its nuclear program. When the project comes to fruition, watch for a dramatic increase in the confidence and influence of this bloc of nations.

Where Does the Policy of Prestige Lead?

Some might wonder if Iran’s quest to build its reputation by attaining nuclear weapons is more about regional politics than international politics. So what if Iran rules the Middle East and the Islamic peoples, as long as it does not disrupt nations outside of its sphere of influence? This thought assumes that the policy of prestige is a stagnant policy. That is a wrong assumption.

History tells us that when a nation holds overwhelming power and has the support of a posse of other nations, it will often look to expand the extent of that power. Look at Germany in both world wars, or the Ottoman Empire. Human nature dictates that, upon acquiring great power, most men and nations will seek to increase it. This will occur in Iran.

Morgenthau explained, “[P]restige, in contrast to the maintenance and acquisition of power, is but rarely an end in itself. More frequently, the policy of prestige is one of the instrumentalities through which the policies of the status quo and of imperialism try to achieve their ends.” A policy of prestige is a forerunner to a policy of imperialism—that is, a policy bent on increasing power.

Naturally, prior to actively expanding its territory (imperialism), a nation or alliance of nations will seek to demonstrate power. By building its reputation of power, a nation seeks to foster fear in its enemies. Then, when a nation discards its policy of prestige and pursues a policy of imperialism, the hope is that peaceful nations will fear the aggressor nation’s reputation so much that they will submit without resistance.

Through its nuclear program, Iran is rapidly increasing its reputation as a regional power. Even now Tehran is establishing itself as the clear-cut leader of the Islamic world. When Iran’s dominion over the Middle Eastern Islamic peoples is complete, history, human nature and Bible prophecy tell us that, with a united bloc of nations at its back, it will begin to push its newfound geopolitical weight around on the global scene.

Whirlwind Warfare

Even without the Bible, we can see that Iran’s motives for nuclear weapons are far grander than what most people believe. Iran has global ambitions. By welding together an Islamic power bloc, it will grow in influence. A grand alliance of Islamic people, with most of the world’s oil under its control and its leader carrying nuclear weapons, would be extremely powerful. But what would it do with all this power?

Here is where you really need to look to your Bible.

The biblical name for this Islamic bloc of nations led by Iran is the king of the south. “And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him …” (Daniel 11:40). For proof of the identity of the king of the north and the king of the south, and to understand the full meaning of the term “time of the end,” please request our free booklet The King of the South.

The catastrophic confrontation mentioned in this verse is prophesied to take place within a time of great global disorder. An unprecedented clash of two great powers will then take place. Regular Trumpet readers know that this verse discusses a great battle between the Iran-led Islamic peoples of the south and a German-led European Union of the north. Europe’s approach to Iran appears weak today, but look for a revolution in European foreign policy in the near future. Notice the phrase “push at him” in Daniel 11:40. This is a proactive “push” by the king of the south at the king of the north. This is what ignites rage in this united European power and causes it to counterattack against this war-mongering southern alliance. The word push as it is used in this context implies violence. It means to wage war! In a foreign-policy blunder that leads to its own destruction, Iran is prophesied to prod the king of the north into war!

Consider Iran’s current foreign policy for a moment. Would you not consider it “pushy”? Through its nuclear program, Iran is already stirring up trouble with Europe today! Iran’s present actions toward Europe are a signpost warning us that fulfillment of the Daniel 11:40 prophecy is rapidly approaching. Does this shock you? Such actions ought to alert us to what is about to happen!

Notice this recent “pushy” decision by the Iranian parliament: “To shouts of ‘Death to America,’ Iran’s parliament unanimously approved the outline of a bill Sunday that would require the government to resume uranium enrichment, legislation likely to deepen an international dispute over Iran’s nuclear activities” (Associated Press, October 31).

In two rounds of peace talks in October, Europe offered Iran a healthy deal in return for assurances that Tehran would suspend its nuclear activities. Iran’s nuclear negotiator Hossein Mousavian responded, “We have rejected two possibilities: cessation and unlimited suspension. … We told the Europeans if your target is cessation, it will be impossible” (ibid.). Then, following the November agreement with the EU3, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami warned that his government would honor its commitment only if, at the coming iaea meeting, Europe would support Iran’s “right” to pursue nuclear technology. If this not a “pushy” foreign policy, what is?

In spite of massive pressure from both the U.S. and Europe, Iran will not halt its nuclear program and remains as defiant and “pushy” as ever!

For now, Tehran’s pushiness may remain unchecked and unanswered by European powers. The time is rapidly approaching, however, when this bold Islamic nation will push one too many times. Europe’s response will be “whirlwind” warfare. Daniel 11:40 concludes, “[T]he king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.” Iran and its followers will be overwhelmed, and Iran’s nuclear program irrecoverably destroyed!