Rouzbeh Parsi pours cold water on “existential threat” rhetoric about Iran:

An Iranian nuclear bomb will not pose a existential threat to the United States, but it will bring home a reality that most politicians in Washington have learned to ignore over the years: Iran is a major regional actor that wants a seat at the table. In this regard many may scoff at the notion of nuclear weapons as a status symbol yet it is quite evident that possessing them can very well play a role in enhancing to stature of a country.

The real fear behind especially the Israeli hyperbole on Iran is not an imminent existential threat either, but rather the prospect of losing its regional monopoly on nuclear weapons, forcing the country to finally deal with a geopolitical reality that requires reciprocal relationships. One of the reasons the Israeli leadership can afford (so far) to evade the political reality and consequences of their own actions and the make up of the region is their sway (real and imagined) in U.S. policymaking with regard to the Middle East.

It’s important to remember this as the Iran debate continues. It seems to have almost become a litmus test in Republican circles to affirm that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a vastly greater threat than it actually would. One of the central claims many Iran hawks make on a regular basis is simply false, but they aren’t challenged on this point nearly often enough.