OPEC Nations, Nuclear Weapons, and Economic Sanctions on Iran

Introduction: Sanctions in the OPEC World

What sorts of sanctions and punishments should an OPEC nation — whose petroleum production brings riches almost beyond imagination, and which is therefore a major player on the world's economic battleground — receive if it launches programs aimed at acquiring nuclear weapons? That is the central question this paper reviews and critiques. The best example of what would happen to an OPEC nation that works toward building a nuclear weapon can be found by examining what has happened to Iran and its nuclear program. This paper delves into the sanctions against Iran and reports the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal consequences of those sanctions. It also projects what those painful economic and social realities would impose on other oil-producing nations planning a nuclear program.

OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is a powerful intergovernmental body whose member states collectively control a substantial share of the world's oil supply. When one of its members pursues nuclear weapons development, the geopolitical stakes become exceptionally high, as the Iran case illustrates. This narrative leads to a clear understanding of the question at hand.

Sanctions on Venezuela and Nuclear Weapons Destructive Power

Sanctions on Venezuela

It should be noted at the outset that Iran is not the only OPEC nation that has had economic sanctions placed on it by the United States. President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order on March 9, 2015, proclaiming that Venezuela had "been involved in actions or policies that undermine democratic processes," and that Venezuela had abused "human rights, including against persons involved in antigovernment protests" (White House, 2015).

There had also been a "persecution of political opponents" and a "curtailment of press freedoms" in Venezuela, Obama asserted. As a result, "illicit financial flows" of money from "corrupt officials" in Venezuela were blocked through economic sanctions, enabling the U.S. to freeze assets and deny or revoke visas of Venezuelan officials.

Nuclear Weapons: A Look at Potential Destruction

To understand why Western-oriented nations shudder at the thought of a country like Iran possessing a nuclear weapon, a brief look at the destructive power of these weapons provides useful context. The bomb that killed an estimated 92,000 people in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, had an explosive force equivalent to 12,500 tons of dynamite. By contrast, a 1-megaton hydrogen bomb detonated today would deliver "about 80 times the blast power" of the Hiroshima bomb (PBS).

At 1.7 miles from the blast of a 1-megaton hydrogen bomb, a crater 200 feet deep and 1,000 feet wide would be created; the soil would be "highly radioactive," and most buildings and humans would be gone. At 2.7 miles from such a blast, "virtually everything is destroyed," including apartment buildings and multi-story structures that are "completely blown out" (PBS). Additionally, 50% of the population living within 2.7 miles would die. At 4.7 miles, windows of office buildings are blown out and the contents of upper floors — "including the people who were working there, are scattered on the street" (PBS). At 7.4 miles, one quarter of the population is severely injured, radiation permeates the area, and "flying glass and debris" causes severe damage (PBS).

Sovereign States with Nuclear Weapons Today

There are eight sovereign states that currently possess nuclear weapons, five of which are party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Those five, in order of their development or acquisition, are: the United States, Russia (successor to the Soviet Union), the United Kingdom, France, and China. Three states not party to the Treaty are also known to possess nuclear weapons: India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons, though there remains considerable ambiguity on the matter.