Ayatollahs justify revival of Iran’s nuclear program by national pride — in achievements of others

By Lev Tsitrin

One of the first things I learned as a little Soviet schoolboy was that everything was invented by a Russian. Book-printing? Fedorov. Radio? Popov. Electric bulb? I forgot the name — I am out of the first grade for well over half a century by now — but I will vouch for its inventor’s Russian origin.

As I grew up, a friend quoted to me the sarcastic summary for this phenomenon of proudly attributing every achievement of the human race to the Russian genius — “Russia is the birthplace of elephants!”

What reminded of this long-forgotten episode of my early youth was, of all people, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asked by Fox New’s Bret Baier. Why can’t Iran purchase the uranium enriched to energy-generating level of some 5% (as plenty of other countries do), insisting instead on enrichment? Because enrichment is Iran’s native achievement, was Mr. Araghchi answer. It is a matter of national pride!

Really? How can Iranians be proud of what Americans, Soviets, Chinese, Brits, French, Pakistanis, Indians and North Koreans — nuclear-armed powers all — did decades before them? What did Iranian scientists discover that’s new to make the Iranian nation proud? At best, they proved that the laws of physics were the same in Iran as elsewhere, and that operating the same machinery in Iran produced the same result. Have anyone in the scientific world doubted that? Was the universality of the laws of physics in question? Was that “discovery” worth half a trillion dollars that ayatollahs reportedly sank into Iran’s nuclear project worth this outcome?

I don’t think so. Perhaps the ayatollah can now issue a fatwa that would enshrine that fact (while stressing who is the boss) — “The Islamic Republic graciously permits the laws of nature to operate on its territory the same way as it does abroad (signed) Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah (notary stamp)” — but that’s about it. Certainly, Iranians have no more grounds to be proud of their nuclear enrichment than Russian of their contribution to book-printing or radio or electric lighting. Sure, Russians printed books, and built radio stations, and made light bulbs — but what’s there to be proud of? That they can copy others’ work? That they are not total idiots?

Of course, pride in pioneering steps is an altogether different matter. The Soviets could be justifiably proud of being the first to put satellite on the orbit (hence, everyone in the world knows the world “Sputnik”), or being the first to send a man into space (hence, everyone knows the name of Yuri Gagarin). Americans can be proud of sending the first man to the moon. Certainly, scientists of the Manhattan Project could be proud of their pioneering inventions that allowed nuclear enrichment. But there is no room for pride in copying what was done by them long after the fact. Iran’s “pride” in enrichment is misplaced — a product of childish mind trying to fool others of ayatollahs’ true intentions.

The same childish hope to fool the rest of the world was obvious in Araghchi’s insistence in the strictly peaceful purposes of Iran’s nuclear program.

Yet, to think of it, what else could he say? Suppose that Iran’s enrichment is not aimed at weaponization. What would Araghchi say? Naturally, he would say “our nuclear enrichment program is peaceful” — because it is. But suppose that its goal is making an atom bomb. What would Araghchi say? Naturally, he would say “our nuclear enrichment program is peaceful” — because else, sanctions (and bombs) would follow.

So how is one to tell “our nuclear enrichment program is peaceful” that signifies that it is peaceful from “our nuclear enrichment program is peaceful” that hides its military purpose? There is no way to tell the difference: both kinds are intoned with the same sincerity. One has to look not at words, but at actions — and 60% enrichment is not a sign of peaceful intentions.

I am sure that by professional diplomatic standards, Araghchi put a respectable performance on Fox — but in his ridiculous appeal to national pride where no such pride is justified, and in his equally ridiculous insistence that the nuclear program of the ayatollahs is peaceful, he came across more like a clown than a serious diplomat. One’s reaction to this ridiculous circus should be contemptuous and derisive laughter — though, needless to say, ayatollahs’ nuclear project is no laughing matter.