Sanctions Will Not Stop Iran

On the afternoon of September 24, 2007, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad comfortably took the stage at Columbia University. The leader of Iran recited the following prayer in Arabic:

“Oh, God, hasten the arrival of Imam al- Mahdi and grant him good health and victory, and make us his followers and those who attest to his rightfulness.”

Before he addressed his skepticism of the legitimacy of the Holocaust or proclaimed that Iran doesn’t have homosexuals or responded to his previous claims that Israel should be wiped off the map, Ahmadinejad called out to the Shia Islamic Messiah to appear and conquer the world. These words, which he’s repeated during speeches in front of the United Nations, are more than just a prayer. Instead, they are a call to war against the Western world.

Traditional Shiite Muslims such as Ahmadinejad believe that the messianic figure “Mahdi” will return before the Day of Judgment and lead the righteous in victory over the evil, similar to Armageddon. The term also has deep-rooted significance in Iranian culture, where the idea of Mahdism has been incorporated as part of the nation’s governance. Ahmadinejad has said that his government’s main mission is to “pave the path for the glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi,” who would supposedly reveal himself after an apocalyptic genocide on Earth that would leave most of the world’s population dead. Ahmadinejad’s calls for the Mahdi isn’t just extremist rhetoric. He believes it is his religious duty to play a role in its emergence by developing Iran into a world power and bringing down Western culture, which he says is dominated by corrupt Judeo-Christian ideals.

At the forefront of his plans to build Iran into a nation that can compete with the West is building an arsenal of nuclear weapons. It is widely known that the buildup of Iranian nuclear facilities is not just for energy purposes. In addition, Iran is breaking the Non-Proliferation Treaty that it signed. Last November, the International Atomic Energy Agency published a report outlining Iran’s nuclear missile development, hardly a surprise to anyone.

Iran’s desire for nuclear weaponry is obvious, and the rest of the world knows how devastating a nuclear Iran could be. With Ahmadinejad’s desires to bring back the Mahdi, wipe Israel off the map, and end America’s run as a superpower, who knows what the man would do once he had the capability to use nuclear weapons. After all, he does believe in an apocalyptic end times.

What can Iran do to give themselves leverage so that they can compete with the West?  By possessing nuclear weapons, Iran would make a formidable threat to democracy, and Ahmadinejad’s holy wars and apocalyptic desires would have far more significance.

The U.S. and other leading Western nations have decided to approach Iran diplomatically and use sanctions to try and slow down their path to nuclear weapons. With word that Israel could be planning an airstrike of Iran’s nuclear facilities, the U.S. immediately stepped in and pleaded that Israel back down. Although the U.S. says Western sanctions against Iran are working, targeting Iran economically may only fuel more discontent towards the West. Furthermore, Iran holds the world’s third-largest oil reserves. Although a European Union embargo on Iranian oil imports could hurt Iran, it is not enough to convince Ahmadinejad that his nuclear program is not worth pursuing. Ahmadinejad’s desire to have nuclear weapons is so potent that no sanctions can stop him from his nuclear pursuit.

It seems that the West wants to use sanctions to cause economic uproar in Iran. Eventually, Western leaders hope, this tumult would result in the ousting of Ahmadinejad and a more democratic Iran. While such a notion holds some merit, the world can’t risk the possibility of a nuclear Iran at any cost. With some experts suggesting than a strategic airstrike of Iran’s nuclear facilities could set back its program by two years, such a mission, coupled with relentless sanctions that would cripple Iran’s economy, is a necessary action vital to combating the threat of a nuclear Iran.  If Israel is going to airstrike Iran, it needs the U.S.’s assurance that if Hezbollah and Hamas decided to counter, the U.S. would offer to help. Whatever the scenario, the U.S. and Israel, the two nations threatened the most by Iran, need to take action soon.

Iran must be stopped, and sanctions are not enough.