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Source: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-856366
Iran's Nuclear Program Is a Tool Designed to Hold the World Hostage
(Jerusalem Post) Amine Ayoub - Iran's nuclear push is deeply embedded in its regime survival strategy, regional ambitions, and ideological warfare with the West. Its nuclear program is a multifaceted tool designed to hold the world hostage, extract concessions, and aggressively advance its anti-Western and anti-Israel agenda. The nuclear program is, first and foremost, a "life insurance policy" for the clerical regime. Internally, it projects strength and legitimacy. Giving up enrichment would be perceived as a symbolic surrender, signaling weakness and potentially inviting domestic unrest. Regionally, it serves as a powerful lever for projecting influence. Iran has mastered the art of nuclear brinkmanship, using its advancements as currency in negotiations. Each step closer to weaponization is calculated to extract concessions. Diplomacy, for Tehran, is less about genuine compromise and more about stalling for time. At the core of Iran's nuclear ambition lies a revolutionary ideology steeped in enduring hostility toward the U.S. and an obsessive desire for the destruction of Israel. "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" are ingrained in Iran's political, educational, and religious institutions. Any agreement based solely on technical constraints without addressing this fundamental ideological animosity is, therefore, fragile and dangerously naive. Given Iran's deeply ingrained motivations, the U.S. and Israel must recognize that Iran will never voluntarily abandon its nuclear enrichment unless forced to do so. True denuclearization requires the wholesale dismantlement of Iran's nuclear program, not just temporary freezes or limitations. The writer, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, is based in Morocco.