Some thoughts on Iran

I was disturbed to learn last week that Iran was quietly selected to sit on the UN's Commission on the Status of Women, despite protests from Iranian women activists. Iran had recalled its bid to sit on the UN Human Rights Council after international uproar, given the blatant human rights abuses used by Ahmadinejad's regime to suppress opposition voices during and following last year's election. But afterwards, Iran was selected without an open vote for the CSW. Women decried this based on Iran's history of suppressing the rights of women and ethnic and religious minorities.

Given my viewpoint on Iran's human rights abuses, and on the illegitimacy of Ahmadinejad's regime more generally, I was surprised to find that I agreed with much of the president's opening remarks at the Nuclear Non Proliferation and Disarmament Conference taking place this month at the UN. He said that for disarmament to actually occur, those with nuclear weapons should not be at the forefront of the debate. He also questioned the fear tactics people are using by framing the current nuclear threat in terms of the possibility of terrorist groups getting weapons. He emphasized that access to nuclear technology for energy and medical purposes are one of the key tenets of the treaty.

I agree that it is problematic for the United States to be a front runner in the quest for disarmament, given the US' irresponsible history of stockpiling weapons and using nuclear threats. While I find the calls for "no nukes now" (promoted most recently by the documentary "Countdown to Zero") somewhat uninformed of the complicated and slow process of disarmament and the delicate balance of competing national interests. I also find it problematic that the US maintains its iron grip on its super-power status. The US is floundering financially, and not benefiting economically in the way it used to from wars, weakening its negotiating power. Furthermore the rhetoric of promoting security and democracy is weakening in the face of widespread destruction in the countries where the US is intervening, or occupying.

I think my perspective on the US' role deeply informs my receptivity to competing ideologies. I don't think the Iranian regime's actions this year are acceptable, and I certainly don't think Iran should have power in international Human Rights or Women's Rights bodies. But I do think it is important to acknowledge Ahmadinejad's critiques of the US and the non-proliferation and disarmament process. His stance would be greatly strengthened, however, if he would fully open his nuclear facilities to inspections to placate international fears of Iran's capability of restarting the development of nuclear weapons. If Iran truly believes in peaceful use of nuclear technology, they should verify this to the international community by opting for full transparency of its nuclear programs, verifying that its nuclear capabilities remain small enough for peaceful uses and unable to develop weapons.