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The recent article published by the American magazine The Atlantic, titled \u201cIn Iran, Anything Can Happen,\u201d once again reflects the same biased and colonial gaze that the West has long held toward Iran and its people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In that piece, the authors attempt to depict Iran as a confused, isolated, and indecisive nation\u2014one trapped among three grim choices: surrendering its independence, building a nuclear bomb, or accepting economic collapse. Yet this analysis relies less on the realities of modern Iran and more on the unfulfilled aspirations of powers that still cannot accept a nation in the heart of West Asia standing tall without reliance on the West.<\/p>\n
Contrary to The Atlantic\u2019s prejudiced narrative, Iran is not a land of crisis\u2014it is a land of survival and creation. It is a country that, through four decades of sanctions, war, and pressure, has risen to become a regional power\u2014one without whose presence no West Asian equation can be solved. Today, Iran is not a subject of Western foreign policy; it is a decisive actor in shaping a new global order\u2014an order no longer revolving around the dollar and weaponry, but founded on independence, regional cooperation, and mutual trust among nations.<\/p>\n
Sanctions that work, but only so much<\/strong><\/p>\n The writers of The Atlantic mention the activation of the so-called \u201csnapback mechanism\u201d with a triumphant tone\u2014as if Iran were about to experience economic pressure for the first time. But since the earliest years following the Revolution, the Iranian people have lived under some of the harshest sanctions in modern history. From trade bans in the 1980s to banking and oil sanctions in the 2010s, from Obama\u2019s economic pressures to Trump\u2019s \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d policy\u2014no other country has faced such diverse and multilayered restrictions.<\/p>\n Yet sanctions neither stopped Iran nor halted its development. Over the past decade, despite all limitations, Iran has made undeniable progress in scientific, technological, and industrial fields\u2014even its critics reluctantly admit this. Sanctions were meant to break Iran, but in reality, they became catalysts for self-sufficiency and innovation. This is the truth the West refuses to see: sanctions no longer work as before. Iran\u2019s economy is shifting Eastward\u2014through energy cooperation with Russia and China, trade with India and Indonesia, and its accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS. These moves have freed Iran from the Western economic orbit and placed it on a new path of multilateral engagement.<\/p>\n These memberships are clear evidence that Iran is no longer isolated. In the same year that Western economies struggled with debt and inflation, Iran\u2014despite pressure\u2014recorded positive growth, and its non-oil exports exceeded $50 billion. The figures may appear modest, but their meaning is clear: Iran\u2019s economy, despite all restrictions, is alive and evolving along an indigenous path.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s nuclear program<\/strong><\/p>\n In The Atlantic\u2019s analysis, Iran\u2019s nuclear program is portrayed as a \u201csource of crisis.\u201d But what the authors deliberately ignore is that Iran\u2019s nuclear program has, from the start, developed under the framework of the NPT and the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Not a single official IAEA report has ever indicated a military deviation; inspectors have repeatedly confirmed the peaceful nature of Iran\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n Unlike many countries, Iran maintained cooperation with the Agency even at the height of external pressure. All of its nuclear facilities are under IAEA cameras, and Iran has accepted more surprise inspections than any other NPT member. Yet for the West, the issue has never truly been \u201cthe bomb.\u201d The real issue is technological independence. A nation that enriches uranium without Washington\u2019s permission is deemed a \u201cthreat,\u201d even if its activities are entirely peaceful. Despite deep mistrust, Iran has repeatedly demonstrated goodwill. The signing of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was a clear symbol of this. Iran, despite skepticism, sat at the negotiating table and fulfilled all its obligations. The IAEA confirmed Iran\u2019s full compliance in over ten consecutive reports. But in 2018, it was the United States that unilaterally withdrew from the deal, violating all its own commitments.<\/p>\n Even after this breach, Iran did not abandon diplomacy. On the eve of Israel\u2019s twelve-day war against Iran, indirect talks between Tehran and Washington were still underway. At that very moment\u2014when Iran sought a new agreement through dialogue\u2014the Israeli regime, with U.S. logistical and intelligence backing, attacked Iranian soil. Is that a sign of sincerity in negotiation, or proof of the old mindset that \u201cdiplomacy only works when Iran concedes\u201d?<\/p>\n Nevertheless, Iran did not close the path to talks even after those attacks\u2014because it believes that stability in West Asia can only be achieved through diplomacy and mutual respect. The JCPOA taught us a clear lesson: the problem does not lie in Iran\u2019s behavior, but in a policy that treats independence itself as a threat.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s defensive capabilities<\/strong><\/p>\n In The Atlantic, the authors claim that Iran\u2019s missile and drone capabilities can \u201cwound but not win.\u201d Yet if that were true, why does the West fear them so much? Why is restricting Iran\u2019s defense power one of the main pillars of Western negotiation?<\/p>\n The answer is simple: Iran, through indigenous knowledge, has shattered the West\u2019s military monopoly in the region.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s missile and drone technologies are the direct products of sanctions and isolation. When even the purchase of basic defense equipment was denied, Iranian engineers built an independent defense industry from within. Today, Iran stands among advanced nations\u2014not only in ballistic missiles but also in combat drones, electronic warfare, and air-defense systems.<\/p>\n In the region\u2019s proxy wars, this deterrent power has shifted the balance. Iran\u2019s precision missile strikes on terrorist positions in Syria and its measured retaliation against U.S. forces at Ayn al-Asad demonstrated that Iran can respond decisively and proportionately when threatened. No regional power\u2014not even Israel\u2014dares to attack Iran directly, knowing the consequences would be disastrous. That is the true meaning of deterrence.<\/p>\n In today\u2019s world, security cannot be bought; it must be built. Iran has not acquired its security through oil money or dependence on foreign powers\u2014it has built it with the blood, knowledge, and resolve of its people. That is what enrages the West: a nation that has become powerful without their permission.<\/p>\n Iran and the new global order<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the West\u2019s greatest analytical errors is its insistence on viewing the world through the single-polar lens of the past. The reality today is entirely different: the world is moving toward multipolarity, and Iran stands at the center of this transformation. Iran\u2019s accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS is not merely membership\u2014it signifies a historic reorientation. The non-Western world is regaining confidence, and Iran is one of the pillars of this emerging order.<\/p>\n New transport corridors stretching north-south and east-west cannot be completed without passing through Iranian territory. China\u2019s New Silk Road, India\u2019s links to Russia, and energy routes to Europe all depend on Iran\u2019s geography. This is why any instability in Iran directly impacts global energy and trade security. The West knows this\u2014and that is precisely why it still clings to containment rather than constructive engagement.<\/p>\n But this policy is doomed to fail. The new world order is being built on voluntary cooperation and shared interests, not coercion and sanctions. Within this framework, Iran is not a \u201cproblem\u201d but a natural bridge and partner for East Asia and West Asia. Regional powers\u2014from China and Russia to India and Indonesia\u2014now clearly understand that security and development cannot endure without Iran\u2019s participation.<\/p>\n The truth the West fears<\/strong><\/p>\n What The Atlantic ignores is not only Iran\u2019s political reality but also the historic spirit of its people\u2014a nation that has endured war, siege, and terror yet never bowed. Time and again, this nation has shown goodwill, sat at negotiation tables, and fulfilled its commitments. Each time, however, the West\u2019s response has been betrayal and sanctions instead of respect.<\/p>\n Iran is not an enemy of peace\u2014but it will never submit to domination. Tehran\u2019s policy rests on two principles: resistance in the face of aggression and dialogue in the face of respect. Sanctions and threats may slow progress, but they cannot halt the future of a nation grounded in knowledge, faith, and identity.<\/p>\n The Atlantic\u2019s article\u2014an echo of the West\u2019s old gaze toward Iran\u2014may seek to portray the country as crisis-ridden. But the truth is different: Iran is a living, resilient, and thoughtful nation\u2014a people who, through self-reliance and belief, have forged strength out of siege.<\/p>\n The world stands on the threshold of change, and Iran is not on the margins\u2014it stands at its heart. Those who still view Iran through the walls of colonial mentality will eventually learn that truth cannot be sanctioned. The future belongs to nations that preserve their independence\u2014and Iran is undoubtedly one of them.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Today, Iran ranks among the world\u2019s top ten countries in drone technology; it holds global status in nuclear medicine, nanotechnology, and biotechnology; and it produces more than 95% of its pharmaceutical needs domestically. In the field of space technology, launch vehicles such as Simorgh and Qased have demonstrated Iran\u2019s ability to develop orbital launch systems. In defense industries, the country has, within two decades, built indigenous long-range missile systems\u2014technologies once monopolized by a handful of world powers.<\/p>\n
If the West were genuinely concerned about nuclear proliferation, why does it remain silent about Israel\u2014a regime that possesses hundreds of nuclear warheads, is not an NPT member, and denies IAEA inspections? This double standard exposes the political nature of Western concerns more clearly than any argument.<\/p>\n