Deterrence in an Era of Iranian Nuclear Proliferation

The Iranian nuclear saga has been of grave concern to the international community, namely the West and Israel, since news broke in 2002 that Tehran clandestinely operated two nuclear facilities in Natanz and Arak. The Islamic Republic of Iran claims that it is exercising its inalienable right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; however, the West and Israel distrust Iran''s motives and believe that Tehran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Iran''s nuclear program and bellicose negotiating strategy has triggered concern among the West and Israel, prompting the question as to whether their cause for concern is warranted. This concern is examined in Deterrence in an Era of Iranian Nuclear Proliferation by assessing the theories of nuclear deterrence and applying them in a 2008-2009 Iranian context to determine whether nuclear deterrence failures would arise should Iran acquire nuclear weaponry.