When it comes to Iran’s nuclear program, the latest developments indicate that the Islamic Republic is heading toward becoming a nuclear state, which would have significant implications and repercussions not only for the region, but also for global peace and security. The Iranian authorities are defiantly pressing ahead with their uranium enrichment. Inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, last week reported that they had found uranium particles that were enriched up to 83.7 percent purity. The enrichment occurred in Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear site. It is worth noting that, a few years ago, the regime was only enriching uranium to 3.5 percent purity. This is a remarkable and threatening nuclear advancement. At this level of uranium enrichment — and based on the speed that the Iranian authorities are advancing their nuclear program — the Islamic Republic is reportedly less than a month away from possessing enough material to fuel a single nuclear weapon. In the meantime, the Iranian leaders are showing no interest in returning to the negotiating table to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear pact. As top US Defense Department official Colin Kahl told the House of Representatives’ Armed Services Committee last week, Iran could make nuclear weapons in less than two weeks if it chose to do so. He said: “Iran’s nuclear progress since we left the (JCPOA) has been remarkable. Back in 2018, when the previous administration decided to leave the (deal), it would have taken Iran about 12 months to produce one bomb’s-worth of fissile material. Now it would take about 12 days.” The international community must act immediately to stop the theocratic establishment from obtaining nuclear weapons. After all, this is a regime that has, for years, been designated by the US Department of State as a state sponsor of terrorism. It deliberately incites and then exploits chaos and instability in other countries. This is a regime that has, for years, been designated by the US Department of State as a state sponsor of terrorism Dr. Majid Rafizadeh For example, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its elite branch, the Quds Force, infiltrated Lebanon and consolidated the Shiite militias there. This resulted in the creation of Hezbollah. In Iraq, Iran has sponsored a conglomerate of militias known as the Popular Mobilization Units. In Syria, the Iranian regime assembled a coalition of Shiite forces and militias that came from Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Lebanon. In Yemen, the Islamic Republic’s goal was to create a political reality out of the Houthis, just as it did with Hezbollah in Lebanon. In other words, the regime has created or supported many terror groups. In some countries where the Iranian regime has failed to create such militias, it instead attempts to establish terror cells and hire assassins. Several states, including Kuwait, have detained Iranians who have been caught trying to conduct espionage activities. Tehran uses its embassies and diplomats in foreign countries for such purposes. For example, one of the regime’s diplomats, Assadollah Assadi, was in 2021 sentenced to 20 years in jail in Belgium over his role in a 2018 terrorist plot. Assadi was convicted for delivering explosive materials to a couple in Luxembourg with the aim of bombing an Iranian opposition rally in Paris, which I attended. Had the plot not been discovered at the very last minute, hundreds of people could have been killed, including international dignitaries and many European parliamentarians. In addition, a regime whose core principle is exporting its revolution to other countries should not be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons. As the Islamic Republic’s founding Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini famously stated: “We shall export our revolution to the whole world. Until the cry, ‘There is no god but Allah’ resounds over the whole world, there will be struggle.” The Islamic Republic is anchored in prioritizing the pursuit of its revolutionary ideals, which include exporting its Islamist system of governance to other countries around the world. The regime’s key mission is incorporated in Iran’s constitution, which states: “The constitution provides the necessary basis for ensuring the continuation of the revolution at home and abroad. In particular, in the development of international relations, the constitution will strive with other Islamic and popular movements to prepare the way for the formation of a single world community.” Finally, this is a regime that has already set up weapons factories abroad and manufactured advanced ballistic missiles and other weapons in foreign countries, specifically Syria. These include precision-guided missiles with advanced technology that allow them to strike specific targets. As a result, it is not unrealistic to argue that the regime will likely provide its nuclear technology to its terror and militia groups, as well as its allies, in order to advance its ideology. Since 1979, by deploying the IRGC and the Quds Force, Iran’s leaders have managed to expand Tehran’s influence throughout the Middle East, from Yemen to Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip, through its proxy groups, including the Houthi militia, Hezbollah, Hamas and the PMU. In a nutshell, all signs indicate that the Iranian regime is heading toward acquiring nuclear weapons. For global peace and security, the international community must act immediately, before it is too late. Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh