Double standards and nuclear weapons

by Kati Juva

Nowhere are double standards and hypocrisy more evident than in relation to Israel and its nuclear policy. The only nuclear power in the Middle East has been allowed to carry out genocide in Gaza and bomb a sovereign state with impunity. There is no talk of economic sanctions or ending arms sales. There are barely any muted calls to stop the destruction of the Palestinians, and the bombing of Iran has even been cheered in many places.

How is it possible that the attacks by Israel and, subsequently, by the United States on a sovereign country, in complete violation of international law and the UN Charter, are not condemned or even acknowledged as illegal? This is certainly not a preventive or defensive strike, but rather a domestic political ploy by Netanyahu and Trump to appear strong and divert attention from other problems.

I do not support the current Iranian regime, which is authoritarian, cruel, and misogynistic. A change of regime in Tehran would be welcome, but it must come from within, from the actions of the Iranian people, not from outside bombing. Military action not only causes destruction and death, but also causes people to rally around the flag. Besides, if the Iranian regime were to fall now, the result would be mainly chaos and violence. Those who are trying to achieve regime change in this way should be asked how things turned out in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan.

Iran has long been suspected of developing its own nuclear weapons, and Israel has maintained a nuclear arsenal for years. Nuclear weapons are terrifying weapons, and no one should have them. Ten years ago, Iran accepted the JCPOA agreement, the so-called Iran deal. According to the agreement, Iran would not enrich uranium up to weapons-grade levels and would agree to IAEA inspections, including unannounced ones. Iran is also a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), meaning it is officially committed to not acquiring nuclear weapons. Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the JCPOA agreement in 2018 and has not succeeded in negotiating a new one. 

It is clear that Iran has recently enriched uranium beyond the needs of civilian nuclear power, although not yet to weapons grade. What remains unclear is how seriously Iran has been pursuing the development of nuclear weapons and how far it has progressed in this endeavour. The views of intelligence agencies differ. Iran itself denies this and has said it is ready to negotiate on its nuclear program. But how can the country’s leadership negotiate any agreements when the other party is simultaneously pushing for a regime change?

When discussing security in the Middle East and the development of nuclear weapons, it is difficult to imagine that bombing Iran’s nuclear research facilities and Tehran would somehow weaken its motivation to acquire nuclear weapons. According to the latest assessments, the extent of the destruction of the underground nuclear facilities is also unclear.  Iran may still be capable of producing a nuclear weapon in a matter of weeks or months, rather than years. 

Only through negotiation and international agreements can long-term results be achieved, not through bombing and destruction.

Furthermore, the hypocrisy of the situation regarding nuclear weapons is completely unacceptable. Israel is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has probably had its own nuclear weapons since the 1960s, even though it does not directly admit this. How can most politicians around the world, including in Finland, accept Israel’s nuclear weapons, yet encourage it and the United States to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons program?

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was adopted in 1970. Its recognition of the nuclear weapons of five countries (Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States) was intended to be temporary, and the treaty requires these countries to disarm. Other countries, in turn, committed themselves not to acquire nuclear weapons. Since then, India, Pakistan, and North Korea, in addition to Israel, have acquired their own nuclear weapons. India and Pakistan have never joined the NPT; North Korea withdrew from the treaty in 2003, shortly before declaring itself a nuclear-armed state. 

Nuclear disarmament has not progressed in decades, and most nuclear-weapon states are expanding and modernizing their arsenals. Nuclear deterrence, however, is a fragile construct based on trust in the rationality of decision-makers and the absence of technical or human error. If deterrence fails, the nuclear winter that follows a nuclear war will kill billions of people through starvation. 

It is time to call for universal nuclear disarmament that applies equally to all countries. There is no such thing as responsible possession of nuclear weapons. Of course, nuclear disarmament must be carried out equitably, through negotiation and with consideration for everyone’s security concerns. 

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapon (TPNW), which came into force in 2021, provides the best opportunity for this. The treaty prohibits the design, financing, manufacture, possession, threat, and use of nuclear weapons. Nearly 100 countries have already signed it. Finland should also sign this treaty, instead of supporting the illegal, hypocritical, and dangerous military actions of two nuclear powers, Israel and the United States, in the Middle East.

All nuclear weapons must be eliminated before they destroy us.

[Kati Juva is IPPNW co-president and the coordinator of ICAN Finland.]