¶ … Iran's nuclear ambitions a Canadian Strategic Studies point view (politics economics). Explain Minister Foreign Affairs Canada power Iran's nuclear ambitions ( terms economic, financial, military, social, global impacts, global strategy, political implications Canada world, stratagems, warfare capabilities). Iran is at the moment one of the most important players of the international scene and represents a heated subject for debate in all the administrations of the world. Its nuclear program has been the focus of attention for more than ten years largely due to the contested evidence provided by the nuclear watchdog of the United Nations, the International Atomic Agency. At the same time however, despite the sometimes clear signals sent by the Iranian administration of its offensive aim with the nuclear program, the international community fails to take into account the deep implications a nuclear Iran may have in terms of political, economic, financial, social, or military issues.

Canada has been in this scheme a strong supporter of action against nuclear Iran mainly given the concerns it has over the potential consequences of such a state of facts. The current research focuses on the implications the nuclear program in Iran, and the actual political statements its development produces for Canada as one of the leading voices for a peaceful Iran. In this sense, it is structured to reveal the implications the nuclear program of Iran has and the reaction of the Canadian government both in terms of unilateral sanctions and at the level of the United Nations.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a fierce combatant of both the Ahmadinejad administration and the nuclear program and initiative in general. In this sense there are numerous stands to clearly point out the opposition of Canada to such events and perspectives. In a 2010 statement the Ministry argued that the enrichment program, which is to this day subject to sanctions, is a defiance of the international community and a real threat to global security. Furthermore, it was added that there are clear implications and connections between the enrichment program and the military development ongoing in Iran

. Finally, the press release also offered a perspective of the deep concerns Canada constantly expresses in relation to Iran and its attitude towards the respect of human rights and dignities. From this point-of-view it is important to note the clear stand of the Canadian state against Iran and its nuclear activities.

Canada is also a strong supporter of democracy, freedom and human rights, and it sadly observes the manner in which the Iranian regime is violating all of the above.

The Government of Canada is raising a signal of serious trespassing of women and minorities rights, discrimination and basic human rights abuses that the Iranian Government allows and promotes.

The political implications represent some of the most sensitive aspects of the Iranian nuclear program. This is largely due to the fact that, as stated above, the lack of cooperation with the international community determines Iran to act as a hostile part at the discussions. Furthermore, there is limited access provided for international experts from the IAAE, which in turn raises suspicions over the exact purposes of Iran and its nuclear enrichment program.

In a recent report from the IAAE, Iran refuses access to inspectors on the one hand and fails to deliver relevant information when required by the status of the inspectors as well as the sanctions imposed on the other hand

. This lack of cooperation provides a comprehensive view over the relations Iran has at a global level, except certain countries such as Russia or China that fail to concur to the global rejection of a nuclear Iran. Despite these exception the general perspective over Iran is clearly one of disagreement at the political level. Furthermore, the maintenance of a strong hardline political stand from Iran to defend its nuclear program would only increase the gap that already exists between Iran and the international community at the political level

In more detail the main political implications of the Iranian enrichment program are related to a split at the international level. More precisely, as mentioned above, Russia, one of the leading actors of the political world fails to consider strict actions against Iran

. In this sense, indeed, from an economic point-of-view Russia reduced its trade with Iran in terms of nuclear technology that would eventually benefit the Tehran regime, but refused to condemn the nuclear report as done by other countries around...

This detached attitude automatically creates a psychological rift between Iran on the one hand and the international community on the other.
From the political point-of-view, Canada has ensured that its opinion on the matter is well spoken out for. Better said, the Canadian government to this day limits its political ties in the sense that it refuses to extend the diplomatic dialogue in Iran at a higher level than that of the Charge d'Affaires

. This is an important political and diplomatic statement because it provides sufficient evidence to support Canada's stand against the current Iranian regime. Furthermore, the current dialogue between the two countries is limited to only a few areas of interest such as human rights and the nuclear program. Yet again, it represents a crucial statement from the Canadian side, as it furthers strengthens the commitment of Canada to a nuclear free Iran.

A second point to consider as being an implication of the Iranian program is the military aspect of the current situation. This is however strictly linked to the global implications of a nuclear Iran. The location of Iran in the vicinity of Israel has partly transformed the nuclear issue from an internal, regional affair to a global one. At this point, Iran is considered to be a threat for Israel that in its turn is prepared to launch an offensive preemptive attack on Iran

. This in fact represents a constant escalation of the problem that Israel has had for decades in the Middle East. However the threat of having a nuclear power against it has never been taken into account until the issue rose by Iran. In this context, in terms of military action, the situation in Iran may become a cause for concern in Israel and may redirect Israel's foreign policy concept from a peaceful to an offensive one. At the same time, the situation may worsen given the wide support Israel enjoys from the United States.

Canada is from this perspective relatively distant in terms of direct implications nuclear Iran may have on the safety of the borders. However, it must be underlined that Canada is one of the strong members of the NATO alliance that can prove, in the future, a potential target for a warrior nuclear Iran. In this sense, studies have been conducted suggesting that indeed, Iran, at the military level would represent a clear threat to the security and integrity of NATO member states and NATO as a political and military alliance

The constant threat represented by Iran in the possession of nuclear powers has determined the NATO alliance to undergo several sessions of damage assessment in terms of the worst events possible. The Atlantic Council, a well-known respected U.S. think-tank reached several disturbing conclusions on the matter. These refer to the ways in which NATO, still the most important political and military alliance in the world, could react in the eventuality of a nuclear war. However, these aspects do not include on the spot measures but rather preemptive actions that need to strengthen the military capabilities of the member states as well as the reaction time needed in case of a nuclear threat. The advantage of the Iranian challenge can be seen in the wide initiative of the NATO countries to strengthen their options and defense

. At the same time though, it is relatively clear that a nuclear war is not an option, given previous experiences. Even so, the level of threat in consideration of the Iranian nuclear plan is relatively high.

From the perspective of the above, Canada has taken a leading role in supporting international efforts to reach, by diplomatic means, a resolution of the situation. At the same time though the United Nations has been the major player on the international arena in terms of global action. Iran is at this forum one of the most discussed issues on the agenda, a fact which even more strengthens the point that the nuclear Iranian program is indeed a challenge for democracy, diplomacy, and international relations.

As the world economies are more and more interdependent and/or dependant on each other, any major shift or high risk of such a shift creates economic, financial and political complications. In the case of Iran's nuclear ambitions and the constant lack of abiding to the international community demands to stop its nuclear program, significant shifts in the economy of the region as well as the global one are perceivable. Even without an armed conflict between Iran and a significant part of the international community in place, the economic ripples that any change in Iranian politics could have on the world economy are considerable. Having in…