One perplexing aspect of this nuclear dilemma is how serious the religious edict in Iran against nuclear weapons was and is. It does seem genuine, on one hand, and yet on another Iran has been a rather shrewd player in arming sometimes extremist allies across the region against its enemies. I’ve heard some say that Iran hovering for years at the nuclear weapons threshold was more about winning concessions from the west. Nevertheless, from Iran’s perspective, that deliberate delay strategy might have been fatally costly given that its government’s very existence is now threatened by Israel because of a lack of a nuclear deterrent

Wow, it's fascinating how Iran's nuclear stance balances genuine religious beliefs with strategic regional moves, showing their complex yet clever approach to global politics