What does a nuclear Iran mean for the rest of the Middle East?

Much has been made of the possible threat that Iran could mean to America and its Western allies, but what about the countries that live right on its doorstep? What could a nuclear Iran mean for the Middle East?

With Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ruling out negotiations on his country's nuclear program saying "We will never negotiate Iran's undeniable rights", it seems to be only a matter of time before Iran has a working nuclear weapon. That immediately throws up the possibility of a nuclear stand-off between Iran and Israel, who has been named multiple times by Iranian leaders as being a possible target. Israel is a nuclear power, and one that has long been resented in the Middle East, such a conflict would even further undermine its position.

America and its Western allies all have significant oil interests in the region and fear that destabilisation of the area would hamper production. As such, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently said that US allies in the Middle East should "strengthen their respective militarise in order to deter Iran from continuing its suspected nuclear weapons program".

In an interview published in Al-Jazeera, Gates continued,

"One of the pathways to get the Iranians to change their approach on the nuclear issue, is to persuade them that moving down that path will actually jeopardize their security, not enhance it," he told the station.

"The more that our Arab friends and allies can straighten their security capabilities, the more they can strengthen their co-operation, both with each other and with us, I think sends the signal to the Iranians that this path they're on is not going to advance Iranian security but in fact could weaken it."

As for Israel's nuclear program and why the US has made no attempts to restrict their ally's production of nuclear arms?

Gates added, "First of all, it's the Iranian leadership that has said it wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth...Those threats have not been made in the other direction."

"It is the Iranian government that is in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions with respect to these programs, so focus needs to be on the country that is feuding the will of the international community and the United Nations."

Despite the Iranian leadership stating that its nuclear technology would be used for peaceful use only, America remains convinced of the country's attempts to build nuclear weapons. Whether diplomacy can find a solution remains to be seen, but if the situation continues the region could become even more volatile than it currently is.

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