The New Nation - Internet Edition

Syed Sikander Mehdi

THERE is no nuclear bomb on Iranian soil. Even the worst foes of the Islamic Republic agree that Iran does not have a bomb. According to a rather optimistic projection of the American intelligence agency, CIA, the country is about 10 years away from making the weapons. However, the bomb which is nowhere in sight in Iran is causing tremors in the corridors of power in Europe and North America. The US and EU-3 (Great Britain, France and Germany), in particular, seem to be determined to contain Tehran's atomic ambition and save the world from the non-existent Iranian weapons of mass destruction. But what about the nuclear weapons which are there on the territories of the European countries?

These are the American, British and French bombs which have already been manufactured, which are ready for use and which pose grave threats to Europe and the rest of the world. It is, indeed, interesting to note that the US, the sole superpower which is in the forefront of the campaign against Iran's atomic programme, deployed its own nuclear weapons in Europe way back in September 1954, when it delivered gravity bombs to its bases in Britain. "During the next decade," observe Robert Norris and Hans Kriestensen in their report published in the November/December 2004 issue of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, "weapons went to Germany, Italy, France, Turkey, Netherlands, Greece and Belgium." In 1971, the number of US nuclear warheads based in Europe peaked at approximately 7,300. One may argue that the placement of the bombs on European territories was a Cold War imperative and the US has already withdrawn most of its weapons from there. However, even more than a decade after the dissolution of the Soviet union and end of the Cold War, the United States still has 480 nuclear bombs deployed in Europe. Worse still, the US is opposed to any suggestion for the withdrawal of its nuclear weapons from Europe. Such is the state of affairs even when the demand for the removal of these weapons is growing in Belgium, Germany, Norway and elsewhere in Europe. On March 22, 2005, for instance, the Belgian senate foreign affairs committee adopted a resolution calling for the removal of US nuclear weapons from Belgium and Europe. A month later, on April 21, a resolution was approved unanimously by the full senate. Around the same time, on May 2, 2005, the German magazine Der Spiegel published a public opinion poll that showed overwhelming support (76 per cent) for removing the weapons. Likewise, a number of European political parties and leaders have also called for the removal of the American nuclear weapons from Europe. But the weapons remain there and the US continues to resist all demands for their withdrawal.

These 480 nuclear warheads are not the only nuclear weapons on the territories of the European states. In addition, there are the British and French atomic bombs - bombs which should be more deadly than the one which Iran has not manufactured as yet, although the latter is technologically incapable of doing so in the near future. The French nuclear arsenal with 482 strategic nuclear weapons is the third largest in the world. Of course, the country has undertaken sweeping reduction of its weapons, it is reportedly also engaged in modernizing its sea-bed nuclear force, with the first of a new SSBN class, the Le Triomphant, along with a new SLBM, the M-45. Great Britain, like France, has also considerably reduced its nuclear arsenal. However, its nuclear stockpile, according to 2002 estimate of the Natural Resources Defence Council, is about 200 of one type - much less than what it had in mid-1970s when the stockpile had peaked at some 350 warheads. All these nuclear weapons - American, British and French - are deadly, are on European Union territories and need to be destroyed as other nuclear weapons manufactured by other countries.

But it is clear that the US and EU-3 are after the Iranian bomb. It seems as if they have certain other compelling reasons for targeting Iran. This impression is further strengthened when noted that Iran has put forward a fairly strong case in its defence. It has, in fact, reiterated again and again that its programme is for peaceful purposes only; it is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT); it is a member of the International Atomic energy Agency (IAEA); its nuclear activities are constantly monitored by the agency; and when IAEA expressed its reservations regarding its nuclear research programme, Iran voluntarily allowed the agency to put seals on its nuclear research facilities. By and large, Iran has enjoyed good relations with the IAEA and as pointed out by its supreme national security secretary, Ali Larijani, "the country has allowed 1400 man-hours of inspection of its nuclear sites." According to a report, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad categorically refuted the charge that Iran was making the bomb. He said: "We are a civilized and ancient nation, and a nation that has culture and logic does not need nuclear weapons." Maintaining that such weapons are sought by people who intend to solve everything through brute force and bullying, he added: "Unfortunately, today people face rulers who think they have more rights than other nations because their arsenals are stocked with nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons." However, the nuclear stand-off between Iran and the West continues.

Indeed, ever since a group of Iranian exiles, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), revealed in August 2002 that Iran was hiding a uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and other nuclear sites, Iran has come under increasingly pressure from the US and the EU-3. Claiming that it is an independent, sovereign state, that it is opposed to nuclear colonialism and has a right to atomic research, Iran has resisted all such pressures and accused the West of double standards. This has resulted in worsened ties with the US and certain European states. The situation deteriorated further when the IAEA board of governors adopted a resolution on Iran's atomic programme in its meeting held in September 2005. Drafted by Britain, France and Germany, the resolution called on Iran to halt its enrichment programme and warned that the matter could be referred to the UN Security Council if Iran failed to heed the call. However, the issue was not immediately referred to the Security Council and it was hoped that diplomacy would somehow resolve the issue.

But this was not to be and the hurling of accusations and counter-accusations have further marred the prospects for an understanding over the nuclear issue. There is a strong possibility that the matter may be taken up by an extraordinary meeting of the IAEA board of governors and that eventually the UN Security Council would be approached for the imposition of sanctions on Iran. Tehran resents such moves and threatens the withdrawal of its cooperation with IAEA if the Security Council is approached. Given the state of affairs, Iran-bashing will not deliver the goods. The nuclear standoff may, in fact, further whip up nuclear nationalism in revolutionary Iran and any intervention from outside may ultimately cause grave regional and global insecurities. It is, therefore, important that the European Union concentrate on the substantive issue and strive for the banishment of all nuclear weapons in every continent. It could earn credibility if it launches a vigorous campaign for the withdrawal of American nuclear weapons from Europe and for the total destruction of British and French nuclear warheads. The EU would then be on a very high political, military and moral grounds and in a position to ask other states to give up their nuclear ambitions.

(Source: The Dawn)