The Islamic Republic of Iran judges the regional and international context favourable to the strategy of ‘asymmetric deterrence’ which protects its nuclear programme. In the eyes of the Iranian leadership, the ‘declarations of war’ made by the Western powers are part of a psychological war, and these powers are ‘deterred’ from conducting preventive operations to halt or retard the Iranian nuclear programme. Washington, Tel Aviv and Paris, and with them the international community, are exposed to the Iranian war and terror machine. Will ‘deterrence’ work though, if Iran maintains its nuclear ambitions? The international community will continue to consider the problem in the form of a ‘profit and loss’ operation before Iran actually develops a nuclear weapon and is able to operate full nuclear deterrence.