AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): In this piece, Jad Tameh writes that the dispute between Tehran and Washington is not merely over uranium enrichment or technical nuclear issues, but rather returns to a deeper question: who has the right to determine the rules of regional order and to recognize or deny the political legitimacy of others? In his view, the repeated negotiations between the two countries are more like an ongoing dialogue about the distribution of influence and mutual acceptance than merely a technical negotiation over the nuclear program.
Referring to what he calls "double standards" in the international system, this author believes that the extensive focus on Iran's nuclear program, alongside silence regarding Israel's nuclear arsenal and some of its military actions, has led many nations in the region to adopt a more critical view of the concept of global legitimacy. He says the main conflict between Iran and the United States is not merely a conflict over security, but a struggle over defining legitimacy and the limits of national sovereignty.
Jad Tameh also introduces the concept of "structural corruption in international relations" and writes that the main danger begins when major powers not only violate the law but also possess the ability to define the law and determine its exceptions. In his view, in such a situation, international law is more overshadowed by the balance of power than governing politics, and this has exacerbated the global crisis of trust in the existing legal order.
In another part of this analysis, the author, referring to Iran's experience, considers it an example of a country that, despite severe external pressures, has refused to completely redefine its strategic policies based on Washington's demands. Jad Tameh emphasizes that his goal is not absolute defense of Iran's policies, but rather to demonstrate the reality that power inequality does not necessarily mean submission. He concludes that the most important question in the world today is not the future of Iran's nuclear program, but the future of the international system itself: will the world continue to be governed by law, or has law become another language for expressing power?
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