Iran plots path to nuclear weapon in background to US talks Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Teheran, Iran, January 9, 2019. (Reuters) Short Url https://arab.news/9uy6n Since 2002, the Iranian nuclear file has been a vital issue in relations between Iran’s regime and the major world powers. It could even be argued that this issue has been Tehran’s primary source of leverage in its relationship with the West. In the wake of the Iran-Iraq War, it succeeded in making the case that the development of its missiles program was solely concerned with giving it a deterrent capability to protect itself against any attacks similar to the US-backed one carried out by Iraq in the 1980s. With the regime massively expanding its presence across the region through its proxy militias, it has created a defensive line, making the 2015 nuclear deal an essential policy issue for the West and a source of leverage for Iran to ease any pressures imposed on it.