by Gavin Ashenden
Why Iran’s apocalyptic doctrine complicates the logic of mutually assured destruction
The Iranian Apocalypse and the Nuclear Question
The Present Conflict
The present conflict between the USA, Israel and Iran can be described from a number of different perspectives.
We are used to hearing it described as a power struggle between Western values and a form of full-blown terrorist-promoting Islamism.
That adequately describes part of the struggle.
But one of the underlying causes that has led America to take action now is the proximity of Iran to the acquisition of nuclear weapons.
There are of course already a number of states who hold nuclear weapons that pose a degree of threat to the USA and the West. But from the invention of the atom bomb until now, the theory of mutually assured destruction has so far saved humanity from the consequences of launching nuclear weapons.
Despite the trust placed in MAD, the historical record suggests that during the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s we still came terrifyingly close to a nuclear launch.
So what is different about Iran?
The Religious Dimension
Part of the answer lies in the eschatological and apocalyptic character of the particular brand of Shia Islam that governs Iran, and has done since the 1979 revolution.