The Nuclear Charade: Another Spin of the Geopolitical Wheel
France 24 dutifully reports that Washington wants to discuss missiles, and Tehran wants to stick to nukes. Curious, isn't it, how the US, which maintains 800 military bases globally (Brown University, 2021), suddenly becomes concerned about a sovereign nation's defensive capabilities? THE ACTORS: Who's on the dance floor now? We have the usual suspects: The US State Department, presumably staffed
by individuals who’ve repeatedly warned Congress that Iran is “months from a nuclear weapon” for over two decades (last seen in 2002 via then-UN Ambassador John Bolton, a claim still being recycled today). On the Iranian side, expect negotiators from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, working under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. And then there’s Oman, playing the ever-accommodating neutral
host, a role it has perfected since mediating initial covert US-Iran talks that led to the original 2015 JCPOA agreement (Council on Foreign Relations, 2015). THE FUNDING: Who pays for this performative diplomacy? The US military presence in the Middle East, which is reportedly being 'strengthened,' isn't free. The Pentagon's budget for FY2024 is $886 billion. Defense contractors like Lockheed
Martin and Raytheon don’t mind a bit of 'heightened tension' and the accompanying need for more advanced weaponry. For Iran, its nuclear program and missile development are funded domestically, often amid severe international sanctions that paradoxically make their self-sufficiency imperative. The 'missile program' the US insists on discussing is, to Tehran, a cornerstone of its deterrence