The Influence of Strategic Culture on Non-Weaponization of Iran’s Nuclear Program

After two decades of controversy over Iran’s nuclear program, and despite the genuine development of the program, it is still non-weaponized. The International Atomic Energy Agency has frequently stated that Iran has sufficient material and capacity to produce nuclear weapons, but there is no information to prove that Iran intends to produce such weapons. Western intelligence agencies including United States, have also a similar assessment. From the viewpoint of realism, the motivation behind Iran’s program is security. However, the important question is that why its nuclear program has not been weaponized, especially considering that the world has experienced the states that have produced nuclear weapons after achieving the necessary capacity. The hypothesis is that the strategic culture in Iran has two important elements which expalin why the nuclear program has not been weaponized. The first element is that the concept of power has remained undeveloped and simplified which has not led to the development of the basic concepts of realism such as nuclear deterrence, and the balance of power in a sense that the world powers has understood and experienced it. On the other hand, Iran’s experience of threat and survival is still at the traditional level, that is Iran has never been under the direct or imminent nuclear threat like the US, the Soviet, China or even Pakistan. And as a result, despite the appearance and development of Iran’s program based on security concerns, the strategic decision-makers have never been under the pressure to complete it. In addition, Iran’s