{"id":4935,"date":"2025-06-20T08:08:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T08:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/natharatmouchrika.net\/home\/?p=4935"},"modified":"2025-06-20T08:08:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T08:08:00","slug":"israel-can-have-the-bomb-but-not-iran-the-hypocrisy-of-the-international-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/natharatmouchrika.net\/home\/?p=4935","title":{"rendered":"Israel can have the bomb but not Iran: The hypocrisy of the international order"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Zionist state is believed to have a nuclear arsenal despite not acknowledging it officially. Iran is being punished for adhering to global norms.<\/div>\n
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On June 13, Israel launched an\u00a0unprovoked attack\u00a0<\/u><\/a>on Iran with the goal of not just destroying Tehran\u2019s nuclear programme, but also to potentially trigger a\u00a0regime change<\/u><\/a>\u00a0in the country.<\/p>\n

Among the hundreds of casualties in Iran are over\u00a0two dozen nuclear scientists<\/u><\/a>\u00a0and more than twenty senior military commanders, including the chief of staff and the head of the Revolutionary Guards.<\/p>\n

Iran has retaliated to the attacks by targeting Israeli military bases, firing hundreds of missiles and drones that managed to pierce through the zionist state\u2019s much-vaunted\u00a0Iron Dome shield<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

For decades, Israel has sounded the alarm, particularly to the United States and its Western allies, about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Yet, this is one of the most ironic episodes in international relations.<\/p>\n

Israel has long been suspected to be a nuclear-armed state, though it has never officially acknowledged this fact, and has conveniently refused to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).<\/p>\n

Yet, ironically, it seeks to dismantle the nuclear programme of Iran, a nation that has signed the\u00a0NPT<\/u><\/a>\u00a0and permits international inspections.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s antagonistic behaviour is not new. In 1981 and 2007, it destroyed the nuclear reactors of Iraq and Syria, respectively. On both occasions, the international community remained silent, failing to sanction Israel or deter future aggression.<\/p>\n

Tell-all stories<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seymour Hersh, in his 1991 book\u00a0The Samson Option<\/em>,\u00a0detailed<\/u><\/a>\u00a0how Israel developed a nuclear weapons programme since the 1950s with little scrutiny, aside from a bit of pressure from then-US president John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s.<\/p>\n

In 1960, the US discovered Israel\u2019s Dimona nuclear facility through intelligence and aerial surveillance. Israel initially claimed the site was a textile plant, then labelled it a research reactor.<\/p>\n

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Kennedy, a staunch opponent of nuclear proliferation,\u00a0viewed<\/u><\/a>\u00a0Israel\u2019s secret nuclear activities as a threat to global stability.<\/p>\n

Between 1961 and 1963, he demanded regular US inspections of the Dimona facility and sent several letters to the then Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion, demanding transparency.<\/p>\n

In April 1963, Kennedy warned that US support could be jeopardised without compliance. Ben-Gurion abruptly resigned before responding. His successor, Levi Eshkol, delayed and avoided full inspections.<\/p>\n

Martin Sandler, a leading authority on Kennedy and a prominent American historian, has\u00a0suggested<\/a>, after extensive review of Kennedy-era documents, that the Israeli Mossad orchestrated Kennedy\u2019s assassination to halt US pressure.<\/p>\n

After Kennedy\u2019s death, his successor Lyndon B. Johnson relaxed US demands, allowing Israel\u2019s nuclear programme to continue unchecked.<\/p>\n

Though Israel has never officially declared its nuclear arsenal, overwhelming evidence supports its existence. The most conclusive proof came in 1986 when Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu\u00a0leaked<\/u><\/a>\u00a0photos and technical details of Israel\u2019s nuclear programme to\u00a0The Sunday Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Experts concluded Israel had at least 100 nuclear warheads by the mid-1980s. Furthermore, intelligence reports, satellite imagery, and whistleblower accounts have confirmed Israel\u2019s nuclear capability.<\/p>\n

Former US president\u00a0Jimmy Carter<\/u><\/a>\u00a0and Secretary of State\u00a0Colin Powell<\/u><\/a>\u00a0have both publicly acknowledged Israel\u2019s nuclear arsenal.<\/p>\n

Analysts estimate Israel currently possesses between 100 to 400 warheads, along with delivery systems via missiles, submarines, and aircraft.<\/p>\n

Despite this, Israel has never faced sanctions. When the NPT became permanent in 1995, regional states like Egypt agreed under a US promise that Israel would eventually join. It never did, nor was it pressured.<\/p>\n

Since 1974, Iran, Egypt, and other regional powers have\u00a0called<\/u><\/a>\u00a0for a nuclear-free Middle East. For over forty years, the UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly reaffirmed this stance annually. Iran has\u00a0embraced<\/u><\/a>\u00a0this policy while Israel has consistently ignored or rejected it.<\/p>\n

Western duplicity<\/strong><\/p>\n

As an NPT signatory, Iran is prohibited from developing nuclear weapons but retains the right to pursue peaceful nuclear energy. Under strict IAEA oversight, Iran’s nuclear facilities have been inspected thousands of times, with no conclusive evidence of weaponisation.<\/p>\n

In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with six world powers, agreeing to limit uranium enrichment, reduce its nuclear stockpile, and allow rigorous inspections. Experts agree that the JCPOA extended Iran\u2019s breakout time to over a year.<\/p>\n

Allegations by Israel and various US officials that Iran is secretly pursuing a bomb remain unsubstantiated. Even the \u201cAtomic Archive\u201d obtained by Mossad in 2018 failed to provide definitive proof of an active weapons programme.<\/p>\n

US National Intelligence Estimates from 2003 onward have concluded that Iran halted its nuclear weapons programme in 2003 and has not resumed it.<\/p>\n

As recently as March 2025, US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard\u00a0affirmed<\/u><\/a>\u00a0that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon. Iran has not developed or tested warheads, delivery systems, or detonation triggers\u2014essential components of a weapons programme.<\/p>\n

Crucially, Iran’s opposition to nuclear weapons is rooted in religious and moral beliefs. The country\u2019s supreme leader Ali Khamenei has issued a written fatwa in 2003 declaring nuclear weapons forbidden in Islam. It has been\u00a0restated<\/u><\/a>\u00a0repeatedly<\/p>\n

The hypocrisy of the international system is stark. While Israel remains outside the NPT, maintains a secret nuclear arsenal, and faces no penalties, Iran, a transparent and cooperative NPT member, is subjected to sanctions and military threats.<\/p>\n

There is no evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Yet, the current Israeli-initiated aggression, supported by the US and its allies, may prompt a policy shift.<\/p>\n

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