I recently shared on a Christian comment and culture site why I thought that the continued mutterings about Iran's nuclear program were not just unfounded, but hypocritical. I identified three reasons why Iran's nuclear ambitions are not a worry -- at least no more than anyone else's.
In short, they are:
1. Nuclear weapons have been declared Haram (forbidden, sin) by Iran's Supreme Leader. And since he gets to decide whether Iran has a President at all and is considered to have a hotline to God by those who follow him, his word pretty much goes.
2. The list of countries who have nuclear weapons is long enough to make the question "Why shouldn't Iran have one?", as asked by Republican hopeful Ron Paul , quite reasonable. The answer is, of course, that no country should have one. But since those that do have hardly covered themselves in glory over the last fifty years in terms of living at peace with neighbours and displaying concern for the good of humanity, would Iran really be such a different member of the club?
3. Iran itself is threatened, more than it is a threat. It is surrounded by American military bases, it is a declared enemy of Iran and it has long-range nuclear weapons by the truckload. Add to that the presence of Israel -- not exactly a friend of the Islamic Republic -- and you can see why Iran would want nukes as a deterrant and defensive weapon.
I'm not saying Iran with a nuke would be good news. I just think that the hysteria is hypocrisy. Don't you?