Iran's Power in Context

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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.

By Shahram Chubin

Published on Feb 1, 2009

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)
- Shahram Chubin
In The Media
The Revolution in Cairo is a Serious Warning for the Mullahs
- Shahram Chubin

Security Foreign Policy Nuclear Policy Nuclear Energy Middle East Iran

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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