Randa Mirza, a crew member from Lebanon, watches the Rainbow Warrior sailing 20 miles from the port of Bushehr, Iran in 2007.
The fuel loading at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor should end immediately. The signals being sent throughout the Middle East and beyond threaten to set in motion a chain reaction of nuclearisation in the region.
Regardless of whether Iran is developing nuclear weapons or not, nuclear programmes breed mistrust and constitute a major proliferation threat. The international community is failing to address this problem. A lasting solution to the spread of nuclear weapons should include an end to enrichment, the phase-out of nuclear power and complete disarmament by all nuclear weapon states.
Israel´s nuclear weapons program and Iranian nuclear development are playing a highly destabilizing role in the region. The solution is simple: negotiations on a Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone will increase trust and cooperation among countries and can make a profound contribution to parallel peace processes and efforts to ease tensions between regional powers.
A potential reactor failure at Bushehr - or an attack on it - could have a devastating impact on the Gulf environment and health of nearby communities in what is a crucial transit area for the current energy security of the global economy.
Iran does not need nuclear power. It has abundant clean and renewable energy resources. Investing in wind and solar instead of dirty, dangerous and expensive nuclear technology would significantly ease international concerns while increasing energy security for Iran.
Nuclear energy is a deadly legacy of the 20th century and all countries, including Iran, should harness 21st century renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and geothermal, to provide the energy we need without threatening our security.