Why Israel can have nuclear weapons while Iran cannot: The law behind the paradox

At a moment when West Asia is once again on edge, one question keeps resurfacing: if nuclear weapons are so tightly controlled, why is Iran barred from acquiring them while Israel is widely believed to possess them? It sounds like a double standard. But the answer lies not in inconsistency, rather, in how international law itself is designed. The core idea: nuclear rules depend on consent, not universality International law does not work like domestic law. There is no single global authority enforcing uniform rules. Instead, it is built on a simple but powerful principle: states choose which rules to…