The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) only acknowledges five countries, the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China, that have the right to acquire and keep nuclear weapons until the time they get rid of their stock of such weapons. The treaty obliges the five states not to transfer nuclear weapons or their technology to any other country. Apart from these five states no other country should have the right to possess these weapons. However, the world was forced to accept Israel as a nuclear power without explicitly saying so although experts put the Jewish state as the third largest nuclear power after the US and Russia and ahead of Britain, France and China collectively.

The same policy forced the world to accept India and Pakistan as nuclear powers following their successful detonation of nuclear devices. For the past two years the US has been leading a fierce campaign against North Korea and Iran in an attempt to prevent them from acquiring nuclear power. But Pyongyang has declared in unequivocal terms that it is in possession of nuclear warheads in addition to ballistic missiles capable of hitting targets deep inside the US.

As a result of the mounting American pressure on Iran it is quite possible that Tehran too would announce in the very near future that it, too, has achieved nuclear capabilities, something that would completely change the nature of how Iran is being dealt with.

A close study of the American stand toward the two countries would show that Washington has left over the discussions with North Korea to the Japanese and South Koreans, although North Korea poses a real threat to the US. As against this, Washington is pursuing every means possible to force Iran into completely renouncing its nuclear program, threatening Tehran with international sanctions at one time, and referring the issue to the Security Council at another. There is the threat of military action as well. In the meantime, Israel continues to pressure the American administration to destroy Iran’s military capabilities whether nuclear or conventional. Political analysts cite a number of reasons why Washington is taking a much tougher stand toward Tehran than it has toward Pyongyang:

• Washington fears Iranian threats to Israel and the growing influence of Iran which could offset the balance of power in the region which the American administration wants to be tilted in favor of Israel. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice admitted this in her first official statement after taking office. She said Iran’s hostility toward Israel is the reason behind Washington’s refusal to improve relations with Tehran and that it was difficult to find a common ground with a government that believes Israel should be obliterated.

• Allowing Iran to acquire nuclear weapons would jeopardize American plans to create what is known as the “Greater Middle East”. Washington would never accept a development that would threaten its strategic ambitions in the region.

• The US does not trust its European allies who are engaged in negotiations with the Iranians. Washington believes that these negotiations would only benefit the European Union while damaging US interests.

• Weakening Iran economically and militarily would prevent it from providing any kind of assistance to Palestinian groups or to Lebanese Hezbollah who are all fighting Israeli aggression.

• Washington strongly opposes any Iranian role in support of the Iraqi Shiites and wants to remain the sole player in Iraq. This is a difficult task because the American policy has never understood the strong bonds linking the Iranian and Iraqi Shiites.

I think there are more important considerations than those mentioned above such as:

First, there is of course the oil wealth which represents a top American priority. Oil wealth here does not mean merely Iranian oil since most of the Iranian oil goes to American companies operating under European cover, but that of the Caspian Sea as well. America wants to establish a presence in the Caspian Sea in addition to its presence in the Central Asian republics.

Second, it would be extremely difficult for America and its European allies to see a second Islamic country join the nuclear club after Pakistan. The Greater Middle East strategy aims at disintegrating the Arab countries as well as neighboring Muslim states like Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, into tiny entities. This war began on Sept. 11 as declared by the American president.

It can be said that Washington and Tel Aviv have agreed on weakening Iran hoping to see that country being plagued by ethnic and sectarian conflicts. They know that Iran is now a major regional power after the fall of the Taleban regime in Afghanistan and that of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.