While Ghanaians have been busy obsessing with and hyperventilating over the government’s decision to roll out the welcome mat to for the two former Guantanamo Bay detainees, the rest of the world was witnessing a momentous event that will have huge implications for international diplomacy and international co-operation.
My point of reference here is the Iran nuclear deal which was finalized on Saturday. The deal accomplished three things; one, despite previous intransigence, Iran finally complied with the terms of the nuclear accord that was reached last July; two, nuclear related sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and the United Nations on the Islamic Republic were lifted, and three, the deal essentially brought a prodigal Iran back into the family of nations. All told, Iran is no longer the international pariah it was when the sanctions were imposed.
This was doubtlessly a good deal whichever way you look at it. It is another victory achieved with talks, not bombs or threats. And we should celebrate the occasion knowing very well that the world has just been spared another conflict that could potentially have caused thousands of deaths and untold human suffering.
The deal saw the world’s most powerful nations collaborating with the United Nations to stop an overly ambitious Iran from joining the “big boys,” the nuclear club….nations that have nuclear weapons and capabilities.
Iran says its rationale for trying to become a nuclear nation was primarily for civilian purposes. It claimed it wanted to create an alternative source of energy for its population. However, the world thought differently.
Examined closely, Iran’s nuclear ambitions were clearly nationalistic. Iran, after all, finds itself in the world’s most dangerous neighborhood and arming itself with nuclear weapons was a matter of self preservation.
Developing nations like Iran strive to acquire nuclear capabilities ostensibly for peaceful purposes, but in reality, the main goal is to fend off attacks not only from neighbors but also from the world’s super powers.
Saddam Hussein was forced out of power and ultimately tried and hanged because he did not have nuclear weapons as the Americans wrongly thought. If he did, the Americans would not have ventured near Iraqi borders in 2003 knowing full well that Saddam given his disposition at that time—facing an imminent military assault from a super power—would surely have deployed his nuclear weapons.
Why do think North Korea continues its petulant behavior with the least regard for international conventions and norms? The answer; it is a nuclear-armed nation. And why do you think India and Pakistan, two sworn and bitter foes have not gone to war again since they fighting four wars beginning in 1948? They are both nuclear nations, and the consequences of unleashing nuclear weapons on each other is well known deterrent.
Iran caved in o demands to curbs its nuclear ambitions because the sanctions drastically reduced its ability to trade with the rest of the world, sell its oil, earn precious foreign exchange and import goods and hardware for its industries especially its oil and aviation sectors. The Iranian economy suffered severe setbacks in the process. Small wonder that Iran backtracked and put a screeching halt to its nuclear drive.
Though some sanctions still remain in place, they are not as devastating as those that have just been lifted. Iran is now flush with cash, and will very soon start reproducing oil, its main source of revenue. As its President, Hassan Rouhani remarked after the deal was struck, ” Iran has now opened a new chapter in its ties with the world.”
In the long run, the world is a better place today, minus one less nuclear power.