Introduction to International Politics
Foreign Event Analysis
| Locale | ![[]](http://www.kvasaheim.com/flags/flag15-ir.png "Flag of Iran") | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Title |
Iran’s New Weapon
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| Summary |
On Wednesday, Iran test fired its latest surface-to-surface missile with its head defense ministers present. This new missile called, the Sejil, has a range of two thousand kilometers which would make it able to hit south east Europe and more importantly Israel. The missile is also reported to use a solid-fuel mixture, which is more accurate than liquid fuel increasing the deadliness of the new weapon. Many nations, such as the United States and Israel, looked on the missile test with worrisome glances. However, Iran responded by saying that the missiles were for purely defensive purposes only. The Defense Minister of Iran commented that the missiles would be used, “Only to land on the heads of those enemies --- who want to make an aggression and invade the Islamic Republic.” This new missile system is another example of Iran’s continued desire to increase its defensive capabilities.
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| Analysis |
Iran is in a tough situation in the Middle East. The United States wants to quell Iran’s strong militaristic tendencies in the region. However, Iran realizes that it must rely on itself to increase its own power to try and scare America from taking military action against Iran. The development of this weapon system helps Iran increase their power in the region because they are now able to threaten south east Europe along with Israel. This makes America less likely to initiate military action against Iran because they have to fear the reprisal attacks Iran could launch on Israel and Europe. Iran is also able to expand its power in the region because it would also be able to attack its neighbors in the region. With the development of this weapon system Iran also shows its ability to advance technologically. This missile is one step closer to creating a weapon system that would be able to reach and target worldwide. This also helps increase Iran’s power because nations must accept the fact that Iran is increasing its first strike capabilities. Iran is trying to protect its sovereignty by increasing its power in the region with the development of this weapon system.
Israel and the United States especially must create a strong response to Iran’s new missile system. Israel is now faced with a new more accurate weapon that could attack its cities and threaten its sovereignty. Israel has a history of launching tactical airstrikes or missile strikes against such weapon systems however, this always run the response of a full scale war. Yet, they must do something in order to protect themselves from further weapons being developed by Iran. The United States also must respond to this test with authority. The United States must now try to press its missile defense shield that it planned to establish in south east Europe even harder in order to increase its power in the region and protect against this new Iranian missile system. In addition, the new president of the United States must come up with a response to this development in order to keep Iranian power in check. The weapon system poses a power problem for both Israel and the United States.
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| Perspective |  | Realist |
| In-Region URL | ||
| Out-of-Region URL | ||
| Submitted | November 14, 2008 at 04:43 am | |
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