Last week, as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declaring Iran’s capability of enriching uranium to weapon-grade levels, the United States and its counterparts in the United Nations were convening and announcing their intentions of further economic sanctions against the Islamic nation. These recent developments in the shaky relationship between Iran and the rest of the Western world came on the eve of Iran’s National Day, marking the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

On Thursday, Ahmadinejad and Iran continued defiance of the U.N. by announcing the country had enriched uranium to 20 percent, a significant event in the process of creating nuclear weapons. The immediate response by the U.N. was a call for more economic sanctions, a common trend throughout their relationship ever since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Sanctions by the U.N. have certainly hindered Iran’s economic affairs but have had little to no effect on Iran’s political affairs. I’m not suggesting that the U.N. should just give up, but it seems that this repetitive response has more to do with appearance than effect.

‘We are back to the same old sanctions discussion,’ said Mehrzad Boroujerdi, director of the Middle Eastern studies program at Syracuse University. ‘In that sense, the situation has really not moved forward.They (sanctions) are really more feel-good measures for the domestic audience than things that are pinching the Iranians in a serious way to prevent them from proceeding with this nuclear work.’

Marty Dobelle, a sophomore philosophy major, agreed with Boroujerdi’s assertion, calling the U.N.’s response ‘little more than window dressing meant to make people comfortable.’

Although many Americans may be alarmed to hear of Iran’s progress toward nuclear weaponry, hyperbole by both sides has created more hype than substance. American media outlets like to portray Ahmadinejad as an anti-Semitic, irrational man who could nuke Israel or America at any given time. On the other side, many believe Iran’s nuclear claims are nothing more than propaganda meant to raise support and nationalism within the divided nation.

While Ahmadinejad’s actions and statements seem to support these opinions at times, he and his fellow leaders are smart enough to know that nuking Israel or America would not be a good idea. Leaders are leaders because they like power. Once they are in power, staying in power is their primary concern. It would be very difficult for any of the Iranian leaders to stay in power, let alone stay alive, if they were to use nuclear weapons.

Besides the outside threat to Ahmadinejad’s power, opposition from within is also rising, even amid strong resistance by the government. A recent report by Reporters Without Borders stated that Iran has more journalists in prison than any other country in the world.

Opposition leaders and well-known critics of the government have also been imprisoned in attempts to quell the uproar over what many considered illegitimate presidential elections held in June 2009. The government has even gone as far as slowing and disrupting the Internet connection and the use of e-mail the week before National Day (Feb. 11) in what experts believe is an attempt to inhibit the opposition’s communication. While experts believe the opposition isn’t revolutionary in nature, it is definitely gaining support from Iranian citizens and other nations as well. Changes to the context of the current government may be in the future, but for now Ahmadinejad is in power, and that means aspirations of nuclear weapons and the power that follows will be Iran’s goal for awhile to come.

Boroujerdi simplified the situation to something we are all familiar with. ‘They want to be recognized as a regional superpower, and you cannot be a regional superpower if all the other major kids on the block have nuclear weapons and you don’t.’

Samuel Blackstone is a sophomore magazine journalism and political science major. His column appears weekly and he can be reached at sblackst@syr.edu.

Published on February 17, 2010 at 12:00 pm