Nature is a mirror. Looking closely enough at the wild, you’ll see a reflection of human society staring back at you. The same laws governing the jungle govern global politics: the strongest dominate, the cunning survive, and the weak disobey or get devoured. Strip away our tailored suits, United Nations charters, and press statements, and you’ll find the same primal instinct for control and survival that drives a pride of lions or a pack of wolves.
Take the animal kingdom: dominance is non-negotiable. The alpha male lion lords it over his pride, mating with the females and swatting away weaker males. Gorillas maintain power through physical intimidation, and wolves adhere to an unforgiving pecking order. Even mating isn’t some romantic courtship but a survival contest, where the strongest genes win the right to propagate. Nature has no use for idealistic lectures or moral posturing. Power is its only currency.
Now, cast your gaze over the world stage — and you’ll see the same dynamics at play, just dressed in the language of diplomacy and national security.
Nothing illustrates this better than the enduring nuclear standoff between Iran and the so-called “international community.” A small, exclusive club of countries — the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France — officially possess nuclear weapons under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Some others — like India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel — have defied the rules, armed themselves, and still managed to avoid serious consequences. But when Iran even edges toward nuclear capability, the world’s self-appointed referees lose their minds.
The hypocrisy is staggering. The very nations that stockpiled thousands of nuclear warheads during the Cold War, and continue to modernise them today, are the ones demanding that Iran must never possess such a weapon. Washington, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv preach about global security and nuclear responsibility while sitting atop stockpiles that could end humanity several times over.
When the Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) was signed in 2015, it was hailed as a landmark achievement—an agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for lifting crippling sanctions. Iran complied, and inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed it repeatedly. Yet, in 2018, the Trump administration withdrew from the deal unilaterally, citing vague complaints about its scope. Since then, Iran has inched its programme forward again, and with every announcement of new uranium enrichment levels, Western capitals issue predictable statements of outrage.
But ask yourself: who holds the moral high ground here? Is it the country seeking to balance regional power dynamics after decades of foreign interference, or is it the nuclear-armed states that set rules for others while exempting themselves?
Israel, an undeclared nuclear power widely believed to possess an arsenal of at least 80 warheads, routinely calls for and has carried out military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The United States, the only nation to have used nuclear weapons in war, has led global efforts to keep Iran in check. Meanwhile, countries like India and Pakistan continue their nuclear programmes with little international fuss, mainly because the geopolitical consequences of challenging them are inconvenient.
It’s wildlife politics, pure and simple. The alpha males maintain their dominance through force and intimidation. Rising challengers—like Iran—are swatted down before they can threaten the hierarchy. This is masked by international law, morality, and concern for global peace.
This is not new. Empires have consistently enforced double standards to maintain control. The Romans demanded obedience from their provinces but exempted themselves from those restrictions. Colonial powers plundered and dominated in the name of civilisation and religion. The modern nuclear order is just another chapter in this ancient story.
Iran’s case is so explosive that it refuses to accept its assigned place in the global hierarchy. It dares to challenge the alpha males, defy sanctions, and insist on its sovereign right to control its destiny. In effect, it is a young lion challenging the old kings of the savannah.
And while the West warns of catastrophic consequences if Iran goes nuclear, it ignores the more profound danger: a global order built on naked hypocrisy is inherently unstable. The longer the dominant powers cling to double standards, the more likely new challengers will emerge, either openly or in the shadows. North Korea is a cautionary tale of what happens when a nation, feeling threatened and isolated, decides to arm itself at any cost.
Iran may not yet have a nuclear weapon, but it has already succeeded in exposing the rotten foundations of the global system. It reminds us that we are not so removed from the jungle after all. We wear better clothes and hold fancier summits.
Until humanity confronts this primal hypocrisy, which will never happen, the jungle rules will prevail. The strong will dictate, the weak will obey, and the cycle will repeat — whether in the forests of the Serengeti or the conference rooms of the United Nations.
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