We make it much more likely that Iran can pursue, without eyes on the ground, a nuclear weapons program, making it much more likely they become a nuclear weapon power, unless we use military against them becoming a nuclear weapon power".
Under the nonproliferation treaty, only five countries are officially recognized nuclear weapons powers: America, Russia, Britain, France and China.
It is part of a continuing debate in Britain and France Europepe's two nuclear weapons powers — about the cost to their overburdened budgets of maintaining nuclear independence.
In 1963, for example, US President JF Kennedy predicted that there might be up to twenty-five nuclear weapons powers within the next decade.
What we need is collective action by the nuclear weapons powers to say that we are prepared to reduce our nuclear weapons, but we need assurances also that other countries will not proliferate them.
In the BBC interview, Mr. Brown said that nuclear weapons powers, including Britain, "have to make some contribution to the reduction of nuclear weapons" as part of the process of revising and extending the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which will culminate in a review conference next year that is seen as central to efforts to curb nuclear arsenals.
It is clear that the nine nuclear weapons powers will not sign the treaty.
Israel, India, and Pakistan are all covert nuclear weapons powers and have refused to submit to international inspection.
But dealing with Iran, North Korea and other would be nuclear weapons powers requires all members of the U.N. Security Council.
Five countries are recognized as nuclear weapons powers, including the US, and just four nations - North Korea, India, Pakistan and Israel - have declined to be members.
