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Ignoring Crucial Issues with Iran

(Al Arabiya) Majid Rafizadeh - Spending too much political capital on Iran's nuclear file and ignoring other threats imposed by Iran's military will neither completely contain the Iranian nuclear threat, nor moderate Iran's expansionist foreign policies in the region. Viewing Tehran only from the prism of nuclear proliferation will assist Iranian leaders and senior officials of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be more emboldened in extending their geopolitical and military influence in the Middle East. The strategy of viewing Tehran from the prism of nuclear negotiations rather than of its regional policies falls right into the interest of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and Iran's army establishments. Even if a nuclear deal is reached, the Islamic Republic's regional hegemonic ambitions will not fundamentally be altered due to the ideological tenet of Iran's foreign policy. While President Obama and many others believe resolving Iran's nuclear threat will alter the Islamic Republic's expansionist policies, as long as one crucial pillar of Iran's foreign policy remains ideological, Iranian leaders will not change their regional ambitions, revolutionary principles, or be less assertive in extending their military influence in the region. The writer is an Iranian-American political scientist and scholar at Harvard University.
2015-05-05 00:00:00
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