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  "authors": [
    "Shahram Chubin"
  ],
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    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
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    "Nuclear Policy"
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  "regions": [
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Source: Getty

In The Media

Iran's Power in Context

Depicting Iran as a military threat obscures the real political threat it poses in the Middle East. It is precisely Iran's political behaviour and goals that underlay concerns about its nuclear ambitions.

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By Shahram Chubin
Published on Feb 1, 2009
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Nuclear Policy

The Nuclear Policy Program aims to reduce the risk of nuclear war. Our experts diagnose acute risks stemming from technical and geopolitical developments, generate pragmatic solutions, and use our global network to advance risk-reduction policies. Our work covers deterrence, disarmament, arms control, nonproliferation, and nuclear energy.

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Source: Survival

Iran-US relations – strained at the best of times since the 1979 Iranian revolution – have never been worse than during the past six years, due to the much more intense interaction between the two states since the revelations about Iran's nuclear ambitions and the United States' invasion of Iraq. The United States sees Iran as a potential strategic rival, while Tehran views the American presence in the Middle East as a potential existential threat. This has led to zero-sum thinking and has raised the stakes correspondingly. In the process there has been an inflation of the Iranian threat, which is poorly understood and often exaggerated. Depicting Iran as a military threat obscures the real political threat the country poses to its region; Iran's regional behaviour has been neglected and overshadowed by the contentious nuclear issue. However, it is precisely Iran's behaviour and goals which feed concerns about its nuclear ambitions.

About the Author

Shahram Chubin

Former Nonresident Senior Fellow, Nuclear Policy Program

Chubin, who is based in Geneva, focuses his research on nonproliferation, terrorism, and Middle East security issues. He was director of studies at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Switzerland, from 1996 to 2009.

    Recent Work

  • In The Media
    Iran and the P5+1 in Moscow: Time is Running Out (Again)

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Shahram Chubin
Former Nonresident Senior Fellow, Nuclear Policy Program
SecurityForeign PolicyNuclear PolicyNuclear EnergyMiddle EastIran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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