....Iran‟s progress towards a nuclear weapons capability has had additional major effects. Every state dealing with Iran must decide whether some form of accommodation is possible, and consider its relations with Iran in the context of dealing with a future nuclear power. While a state like Israel may focus on warfighting, other states – particularly Iran‟s neighbors -- must increasingly deal with an Iran which can use nuclear weapons as a tacit or overt threat to bring pressure upon them. Even the future prospect of an Iranian weapon, gives Iran added leverage in the “wars of intimidation” that shape much of the real-world behavior of nations in the region.
Iran's progress towards nuclear weapons capability also interacts with its growing capability for irregular or asymmetric warfare. It is one thing to deal with Iran‟s use of its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) when Iran is a relatively weak conventional power. It is another thing to risk taking decisive action, or retaliating in force against Iran‟s use of irregular warfare, when this risks creating lasting tension with a future nuclear power – or the risk of escalation if Iran actually deploys a nuclear capability. Furthermore, Iran‟s ties to Syria, influence in Iraq, links to the Hezbollah, and relations with Hamas raise the specter that Iran not only can use proxies to help it fight irregular wars, but also to help it in some future covert delivery of nuclear weapons.....
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