Nuclear Iran: Now What

摘要

One can argue it's only a matter of time before Iran develops a nuclear weapon. The 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) formally recognized the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom as the world's only nuclear powers. It also prohibited other signatories (Iran and others) from developing or obtaining nuclear weapons. Since that time, India, Pakistan, Israel, and perhaps even North Korea have developed nuclear weapons. This essay provides suggested strategies for dealing with Iran assuming it develops or obtains nuclear weapons. It includes a review of the nonproliferation strategies and their failures as well as deterrent strategies being applied to the other non-NTP recognized nuclear powers. The United States and the international community expend a great deal of effort trying to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. What are the possible strategies if prevention fails.