Why Iran’s Nuclear Obsession Threatens the World: 3 Key Facts

Having grown up in a Christian community under Egypt’s oppressive regime, I’ve seen firsthand the weight of authoritarian rule. Now, as a pastor in America, my heart aches for the Iranian people, yearning for peace under a regime obsessed with nuclear power and apocalyptic visions. Here are three critical insights into why Iran’s clerics are dangerously fixated on nuclear weapons:

1. Cold War deterrence doesn’t apply to Iran’s ideology. The Mutually Assured Destruction doctrine kept nuclear powers in check during the Cold War, as leaders feared mutual annihilation. But Iran’s Twelver Shiite ideology, rooted in apocalyptic prophecy, dismisses such logic. The regime’s clerics believe a cataclysmic war is a prerequisite for the return of the hidden Mahdi, their messianic figure. This makes a nuclear-armed Iran uniquely unpredictable.

2. Religious zeal fuels Iran’s nuclear ambitions. My studies in cultural anthropology and conversations with Muslims across the Middle East reveal the depth of Twelver Shiism’s influence in Iran. The clerics’ belief in an end-times battle drives their pursuit of nuclear capabilities, despite public denials. The International Atomic Energy Agency reports Iran has enough enriched uranium for nine warheads, and the doctrine of Taqiyya—strategic deception—casts doubt on their claims of peaceful intent.

3. Iran’s nuclear threat extends beyond Israel. Iran’s missiles can already breach Israel’s Iron Dome, and its space launch program signals ambitions for intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching Europe and North America. The regime’s chants of 'Death to Israel! Death to America!' underscore its global menace. Yet, the Iranian people, repeatedly crushed in uprisings like the 2022 women’s protests, deserve freedom from this theocratic oppression.

Recent U.S. and Israeli strikes have damaged Iran’s nuclear facilities, but the clerics’ fanatical vision endures. The West must support the Iranian people’s quest for liberation while countering this existential threat.