If Britain attacks Iran I'll quit my degree in protest

I’m too young to properly remember what the run-up to the invasion of Iraq was like, but I imagine it was rather similar to the situation today with Iran. UN inspectors find no conclusive evidence of weapons, the media spreads irrational panic, diplomatic ties are removed, and then the carpet bombing begins. Fortunately Iran is yet to experience that final step, but a war is looking increasingly likely. Which brings me to my main point: if Britain goes to war in Iran and if even one civilian is killed as a result, I will quit my degree in protest, I’ll go to Iran, and I’ll see what I can do to help. That is, if I can muster enough confidence.

Here’s the thing: I’ve read the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) report in full, and there’s no real evidence of any nuclear weapons. What the inspectors discovered was “equipment, materials and services which, although having other civilian applications, would be useful in the development of a nuclear explosive device.” In short, Iran has some objects that might be part of a nuclear weapon, but could also be part of something else. This is rather like finding an alarm clock and some wires in someone’s house and suspecting them of making a bomb.

As a science student, I am aware that if you make a claim the onus is on you to prove it. Evidently, the members of the UN Security Council could do with a few more years of university: they introduced a resolution in 2008 that ordered Iran to perform the impossible task of proving it had no nuclear weapons, or face “sanctions”. Obviously Iran could not do this, so now Iran’s enemies can claim Iran has broken international law and can thereby legitimise invasion.

Another quote from the IAEA report is a good example of this stupidity: “The Agency is unable to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran, and therefore to conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.” In other words, they have no proof of nuclear weapons, but they also have no proof of no nuclear weapons, so they cannot conclude that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful.

Who cares if I don’t get a “proper job”? Does it matter at all, when compared with the future destruction of Iranians’ lives?

All of this comes under the title “Possible Military Dimensions to Iran’s Nuclear Programme”. This would explain the headline on Radio 4’s news bulletin “A report released today talks of military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear programme.” Selective quotation from the report allows newspapers to mention “serious concerns” about “the development of a nuclear explosive device,” to back up an otherwise nonsensical argument. For example, an article titled “UN Watchdog reveals ‘serious concerns’ about Iranian nuclear weapons research” was published in The Guardian on the day of the report’s release.

Recent chaos in UK-Iranian relations, including the cutting of financial ties and the attack on the British Embassy in Tehran, has led to the current situation where the Iranian Embassy in Kensington (just a few roads away from Imperial, as it happens) has been closed and the British ambassador to Iran is now back in Britain. For lack of a better phrase, this is very, very bad. Diplomacy prevents wars, and when diplomacy is removed, war is often imminent. The United States and its allies are gearing up for war, which (if Iraq and Afghanistan are anything to go by) means hundreds of thousands of dead civilians, lucrative opportunities for western oil companies, and very little else. Which brings me back, again, to my main point: if Britain goes to war in Iran and if even one civilian is killed as a result, I will quit my degree in protest, I’ll go to Iran, and I’ll see what I can do to help.

Of course, I severely doubt I’ll have the confidence to do this. If I do, nearly all future career paths will close, and I’ll probably never be able to get into academia. Quitting a degree definitely doesn’t show sufficient dedication to one’s subject. But faced with the huge numbers of people who will die as a result of a war, my plight is negligible. Who cares if I don’t get a “proper job”? Does it matter at all, when compared with the future destruction of Iranians’ lives? Or does it matter when compared with the vast amounts of preventable suffering all over the world?

I know that as much as I want to help in Iran, I’ll just keep working in science, occasionally reminding myself (as a morale boost) that at least I didn’t go into finance. But when I’m old, I know I’ll look back at this time and wish I’d been brave enough to take that step into the unknown, brave enough to challenge the ubiquitous school-university-work-retirement life that I am expected to lead. I’ll look back at my life as comfortable but ultimately highly selfish and I’ll wish that I could go back to those university days and make the right choices. When I can see all the possible paths in front of me, it’s a terrible feeling to know for certain that I’m going to take the wrong one.