US-Iran nuclear diplomacy hinges on geopolitical leverage: Trump’s Islamabad gambit reveals systemic power asymmetries in South Asian security

The US-Iran nuclear standoff is a microcosm of broader systemic failures in global security governance, where short-term coercive diplomacy (e.g.

, Trump’s Islamabad gambit) obscures the historical roots of conflict, including the 1953 coup, decades of sanctions, and regional arms races. The framing of nuclear negotiations as a transactional power play ignores the cultural and spiritual dimensions of security in the Middle East and South Asia, where nuclear capability is often tied to narratives of resistance and sovereignty. Meanwhile, marginalized voices—from Iranian activists to Pakistani communities—are systematically excluded from these processes, despite their potential to reframe security as a human rights issue. A systemic solution requires decoupling nuclear diplomacy from coercive leverage, reviving the JCPOA with regional guarantees, and addressing root causes like sanctions and climate-induced resource scarcity. Only by centering historical justice, cross-cultural wisdom, and marginalized perspectives can a durable peace be achieved, one that moves beyond the cycle of deterrence and retaliation that has defined the region for decades.