We’ve got troop surges in a severely broken Iraq, a failing war in Afghanistan, and now the threshold of military action is opening on the Iranian front. Iran has long been a focal point for America in the Middle East, from Operation Ajax in the 50's created by the CIA to overthrow the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, to the U.S. support of Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war that lasted from 1980 to 1988. The United States has consistently broken the rules when it comes to Iranian sovereignty. Despite this disturbing history between the two countries, it seems that America and Iran are butting heads again on the nuclear issue. According to America, Iran cannot be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons and has therefore called for the U.N. to place limited sanctions on Iran. America may also boast that it has the backing of a majority of the Arab states on this issue and therefore can claim to be part of a coalition of countries in the Middle East instead of acting deceptively (as in the past) with a coalition of western countries. This, however, raises a great many questions, the most important being: Why isn't Iran (or any other country) allowed to create nuclear weapons? During the Cold War, no country or coalition of countries could stop the nuclear arms build-up that occurred between the United States and the Soviet Union. Yet now that the U.S. is resting comfortably with no more than 7,000 deployed warheads and 3,000 in reserve and is resisting attempts by Russia to reduce their respective stockpiles to 1,500 through the SORT (Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions). Now America has decided that anyone they do not like should not be allowed to have nuclear weapons. This is an outright violation of state sovereignty, nearly as blatant as "pre-emptive" warfare. Iran has a right as a sovereign state to pursue both nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. Part of America's concern with Iran's nuclear project is that Israel views it as a threat to have a country that so blatantly denies their existence to be in possession of nuclear weapons. According to BBC news, " … [T]he lively public debate in Israel on the desirability or otherwise of a potential strike on Iran’s nuclear sites — perhaps even using tactical nuclear weapons." Even the consideration of attacking proposed nuclear sites with tactical nuclear weapons should be considered completely ludicrous and outrageous, but I suppose the consideration of an ally of the United States to use nuclear weapons against an enemy of the United States is completely justified. The U.S. has also been touting that a majority of Arab states support sanctions and even the possibility of further action against Iran. However, what the current administration failed, and continues to fail to recognize is that every Arab state is a Sunni Muslim majority whereas Iran (although Persian) is a Shiite majority. So, essentially America does not even realize that by creating these alliances in the Middle East it is putting itself in the middle of a potential feud, a macrocosm of Iraq. In the end, it is not right for one country to force others to only follow its rules — sovereignty exists for a reason. If Iran wants nuclear energy, it is allowed to have it. If Iran wants nuclear weapons, it is allowed to have them. As citizens of the United States, one of the most successful democracies in the world, we have to push ourselves to resist the fear mongering committed by the current administration and the media. Iran is a state, and as a state it will act in a rational manner to preserve itself. Let us not forget the foremost lesson of the Cold War: Perception is not reality. Wasim Salman ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in international relations.