By Max Fisher
The Washington Post - December 2 2013
Iranian officials sometimes respond to accusations that Tehran is
seeking a nuclear weapons capability by replying that, not only do they
not want a bomb, they'd actually like to see a nuclear-weapons-free
Middle East. Yes, this is surely in part a deflection, meant to shift
attention away from concerns about Iran's nuclear activities by
not-so-subtly nodding to the one country in the region that does have
nuclear weapons: Israel.
But could Iran have a point? Is there something hypocritical about
the world tolerating Israel's nuclear arsenal, which the country does
not officially acknowledge but has been publicly known for decades, and
yet punishing Iran with severe economic sanctions just for its suspected
steps toward a weapons program? Even Saudi Arabia, which sees Iran as
its implacable enemy and made its accommodations with Israel long ago,
often joins Tehran's calls for a "nuclear-free region." And anyone not
closely versed in Middle East issues might naturally wonder why the
United States would accept Israeli warheads but not an Iranian program.
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