Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, considers that developing nuclear energy is a right and a necessity in order for Iran to be an independent nation. This paper explores how ayatollah Ali Khamenei uses the nuclear issue as part of its “neither East nor West1” policy. The sources used encompass primary sources such as the Constitution of Iran and the official website of Ali Khamenei, as well as secondary sources such as scholarly journals and articles from newspapers. To answer the question asked, we will use a political and historical lens. We argue that ayatollah Khamenei, thanks to his position as Supreme Leader, maintains a firm stance on the Iran nuclear issue and presents it as a tool to make Iran an independent power. Knowing the importance of the Supreme Leader of Iran gives clues to understanding not only the decisions made in Iran but also its international policy because the influence the Supreme Leader is present in international meetings and negotiations even when he is not present himself.
Listening to western media, we hear that Khamenei has never been willing to stop its nuclear program. From here, analyzing the history of this Supreme Leader leads us to understand the reasons of this stance. He never made mention of the will to develop a nuclear weapon2. His argument is based on the necessity to develop a civil nuclear energy that is, according to him, a non-negotiable condition if Iran wants to become a powerful country. He underlines the necessity of being an independent country in order to be freed from the influence of the U.S. and the eventual pressure of its neighbors. To pursue its projects, Khamenei uses the immense power that his position as Supreme Leader gives him and that he keeps reinforcing by empowering the conservatives.
In this paper, first we will explain how it is possible for the Supreme Leader of Iran to use an infinite power by controlling all the important spheres of the regime. Then, in order to understand its decisions, we will analyze Ali Khamenei’s characteristics and key moments of his life. Lastly, we will focus on Khamenei’s role and use of the nuclear issue.
1During the seventies, the world was mainly governed by the Soviet Union and the U.S. while some smaller powers decided to form the non-aligned movement. At the same time, until 1979, Iran was under the monarchy of the Shah. This regime had been established with the help of the U.K. and was backed by the U.S. The Islamic Revolution that overthrew the regime was motivated by an anti-western spirit partly due to the fact that the regime had not been chosen by the Iranian people but by foreign countries. Since then, Khamenei kept the objective to make Iran free from imperialism, and independent, hence its “Neither East, nor West” policy.
2Concerning the nuclear weapons, Khamenei follows the path of the first Supreme Leader, ayatollah Khomeini who condemned them and considered them as “forbidden by Islamic ethics” (Eneyo, p.206).
