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Iran's Nuclear Program Essay

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Iran: Nuclear Program

The tensions between Iran and the rest of the world continue to grow larger as Iran refuses to cooperate or negotiate the future of their Nuclear Program. Due to the structure of the Iranian constitution, it is difficult for reform and power to be achieved. A majority of the power is vested into the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Hoch 2006). Other elected and appointed officials consist of: a council of ministers, who serve the president, a 290 member parliament who are elected by popular vote, and an elected assembly of experts who ultimately assess and determine who the Supreme Leader is (Hoch 2006). President Ahmadinejad’s domestic policies weigh heavily on …show more content…

Over the years there have been several attempts at negotiations with Iran and it has progressively led to zero cooperation and token chances of diplomacy. This has preceded the typical plan of action: sanctions. Advocates campaign for sanctions on the Iranian government hoping for cooperation, or even a halt in their nuclear ambitions. These sanctions, whether they are in the form of economic or trade sanctions seem to lack the power to change Iran’s direction with nuclear energy. There have already been three sanctions placed on Iran since 2006. It is obvious that President Ahmadinejad is willing to accept international sanctions with the prospect of becoming a nuclear power (Kellerhals Jr. 2010). Another perspective of sanctions revolves around the actual opinion of the Iranian citizens. By accepting sanctions, it shows the relationship or care that the President has for his people. The citizens have abandoned President Ahmadinejad’s program for nuclear energy (Tavakolian 2007). Iranians still believe in their right to pursue nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, but rather negotiate than risk a potential U.S. military strike or sanction (Tavakolian 2007). By placing further sanctions on Iran, it will just affect the citizens whom many are already impoverished. It is not the citizens we are looking to stop; it is the government’s progression with nuclear research. Since the Iranian government has already proven to

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