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Iran nuclear deal: Let peace reign

Sir: The abrogation of the Iran nuclear peace deal by President Donald Trump did not serve the cause of peace. This was an agreement negotiated by the international community...

US President Donald Trump signs a document reinstating sanctions against Iran after announcing the US withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear deal, in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on May 8, 2018. SAUL LOEB / AFP

Sir: The abrogation of the Iran nuclear peace deal by President Donald Trump did not serve the cause of peace. This was an agreement negotiated by the international community, including the 5 Permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany (P5+1) over a long period of time.

Treaties and agreements reached by nations are outcomes of protracted and serious negotiations which should not be taken lightly, and should not be broken at will by countries who are party to it. The result could be loss of trust in future agreements, some of which may be critical for regional stability and world peace. The abrogation of the versailles treaty by Nazi Germany for example accelerated the outbreak of the Second World War.

The Iran nuclear crisis has its genesis in the overthrow of the Shah of Iran in 1979, and the subsequent coming into power of the theocratic regime of Mullahs in the country.
The western powers had feared that the nuclear assets left by the Shah could be used to produce nuclear weapons.

Iran had consistently declared that the nuclear programme will only be used to generate electricity and for other peaceful purposes.

Atomic bomb in essence is useless as a weapon of war, and it had only been used twice in history killing about 600,000 people.  On the other hand, light arms (guns, mines, explosives) have killed ten times that number since the first two atomic bombs were dropped on two unfortunate Japanese cities during the Second World War.
The super powers possess large quantities of atomic bombs, and yet have lost wars without taking recourse to the use of the deadly weapons.

The defunct USSR (Russia) was defeated in Afghanistan, USA was defeated in Vietnam, Afghanistan and partially in Korea. When the Supreme Commander of the American forces in Korea suggested the use of the atomic bomb to win the Korean War, he was immediately replaced.  South Africa of apartheid era acquired nuclear weapons to protect the racist regime, but failed. The countries with known nuclear weapons have not benefited from it, except those who have utilized the technology for power generation, medicine and such peaceful purposes. Iran is an ancient and powerful country with a population of over 80 million people who are united, patriotic and proud of their great heritage and civilisation. The country’s conventional military assets alone are enough to deter any external aggression without the cover of nuclear weapons.

The Iran nuclear deal must therefore be resolved with a peaceful resolution as the target, and not as a subterfuge to start another regional war. The grey areas could be isolated and resolved without necessarily throwing out the entire agreement. The unending wars in the Middle East, most of which were unnecessary and unwarranted must end. The carnage, human sufferings and other fall outs from the military campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria are a shame to the human race, who in the animal kingdom heirachy are the only specie endowed with reasoning faculty, but yet slaughter each other in quantum. Have we ever heard of a war of goats, dogs, birds?

In conclusion, the Iran nuclear deal must be resolved with common sense, restraint and the interest of humanity in mind. If the end objective is to start another war, such an idea should be evacuated from the calculation because it could easily lead to a world war.

A Sarajevo incident (the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand which sparked the 1st World war) could occur and the entire world would be in flames.
•Amb. Akinkuolie Rasheed was the director of Trade and Investment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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