Nuclear weapons cannot serve as a deterrent from Western attack. Iran is not, nor will ever be on equal footing with the West. A better strategy for them is to consider what it is that they do that angers the West.
happygrump said:
A few potential options:
First of all, Iran likely wants a weapon as a deterrent from an attack. So, in exchange for not building a bomb, the US and other Western forces could pledge to not invade, ever. It's been done before, with Cuba;
Uhmm, not really.
Let'em build it. Then buy it from them. Really;
They have full access to the international forums, indeed much more than is warranted. There are no trading issues; they are free to import and export whatever commodities and manufactured goods they desire. The domestic standard of living is as high as the mullahs permit - that is something outside of the Western program. Cultural relations are their game as well and if they wish to avoid isolation they should stop isolating themselves.
Instead of sanctions, give the Iranian theocracy full access to the international community through the UN and other similar organizations. Improve trade, cultural relations, help raise their standard of living, etc. Will further isolating them improve the situation? I think not;
Fact is that the Cold War of superpowers is over. It is true that both sides posess tremendous destructive capability, yet both sides understood the implications of using it. Both sides wished to eventually emerge on top, a reality which dictated against use of nuclear weapons save for the scenario of mutually assured destruction. It is not a new cold war due to the assymetrical relation of powers - one strike here or there in exchange for unilaterally guaranteed extinction. That is what is worrisome: Stalin knew the restraints, that a global empire of evil would be unnattainable if most of the world, and all of his, was burnt to ash. This in stark contrast to some nut who imagines finding 79 virgins in heaven on the day of reckoning.
Face the fact that no matter what any other country does, states are going to develop nuclear weapons. We cannot un-learn how to build them. So, just like both the US and the USSR and their respective allies survived through decades of cold war, it's possible that this may be the new cold war. The only difference is that the weapons are spread all over the planet, instead of primarily in half-a-dozen nations;
Bomb the bejeesus out of them now, in a manner which shows other aspiring tyrants just how fast a piddling state can be wiped off the face of this earth. A very appealing idea, unfortunately one that isn't workable currently. It seems that option will require a nuclear provocation, something which the international community wants to prevent but in characteristic manner is unable to achieve. The day some mullah or dear leader delivers this provocation will be a day of judgement, make no bones about that.
Bomb the bejeezuz out of them now, which will eliminate the immediate threat but put other country's nuclear programs into overdrive as a deterrent to a Western strike.
I voted to throw them in the pit with Israel. If Iran can't get with the program, better to let them sort it out with their peers.
Alas, I voted, "Fark I don't know" on the poll.