Amitai Etzioni : There is growing interest among U.S. officials , scholars in deterring Iran . For deterrence to work , leaders of nations with nuclear arms must be rational , he says . The United States has not been able to convince its allies that it's a threat and therefore should have the right to use military force against them if they don't agree to give up their weapons. Follow CNN Opinion on Twitter . He says no one can assume that we can safely rely on the rationality of Iran 's leaders .
Amitai Etzioni : There is growing interest among U.S. officials , scholars in deterring Iran . For deterrence to work , leaders of nations with nuclear arms must be rational , he says . The United States has not been able to convince its allies that it's a threat and therefore should have the right to use military force against them if they don't agree to give up their weapons. He says no one can assume that we can safely rely on the rationality of Iran 's leaders .