Iran and Nuclear Weapons

This blog seems to be almost grinding to a halt. So let's have something a bit controversial for a change. I am no fan of nuclear weapons. Not at all. I was a member of CND in the 1980s and went a nice hippy march to Molesworth Air Base. But if one were to don a neo-realist international relations hat for a moment, is it correct to say that Iran having nuclear weapons would make the Middle East less stable? Surely, there must be a plausible argument that it will make it more stable - on the assumption that the weapons are obtained on the basis of deterrence not with an intention of first use. On that basis, Iran could plausibly suggest that it makes the Middle East more stable, on the basis that other countries with nuclear weapons already pointing at their country would be less likely to use theirs, for fear of retaliation in kind. Or have I got my neo-realism all about face?

In other news, there is something of a blog outing to an Edinburgh pub this evening, so hopefully there will be a review of that tomorrow.