An Ethical Approach to Foreign Policy in the Views of Imam Khomeini; the Scope of the Obligatory Continuance

According to the logic of power in international relations and some foreign policy theories, Iran is supposed to pursue production and keeping of nuclear weapons. What surprises Western politicians is the fact that, in addition to the constant rejection of the Iranian government officials of following such an end, Imam Khomeini (RA), in his historic fatwa, has forbidden any production, maintenance, and use of nuclear weapons. During the imposed war, he had prohibited military commanders from employing mass destruction weapons. Meanwhile, it is a religious obligation to strengthen the country's military power in such a way as to frighten the enemy of yielding any threat. The challenging point arises when we observe that the prohibition of the use of mass destruction weapons is not generally agreed by all Islamic jurisprudents. The research question relates to the reasons of why the leaders of the Islamic Revolution have prohibited the use of the weapons of mass destruction. Hence, reviewing various fatwas by the supreme Shiite jurisprudents of the world from past to present, and investigating their reasons for fighting against, or supporting the use of such weapons, this research focuses on the views of Imam Khomeini (RA). The answer underlies the fact that the Islamic jurisprudents, in terms of Ijtihad, are strongly influenced by their religious beliefs and their individual social insights, in addition to their jurisprudential sources. Hence, Imam Khomeini’s decree can be interpreted based on his different moral and anthropological beliefs.