Iran's Nuclear Program Had an American Beginning

The beginning of Iran's nuclear program can likely be traced back to December 8, 1953. On that day, President Eisenhower delivered his important speech at the United Nations General Assembly, which later became known as the "Atoms for Peace" speech. Eisenhower spoke about the positive aspects of nuclear energy and ambitious plans to "produce limitless electricity in parts of the world that lack access to energy." He stated that under this plan, the U.S. government would provide the necessary technology and knowledge to countries intending to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The U.S. President proposed the establishment of a monitoring and inspection body under the United Nations framework to ensure that nuclear materials would not be used for military purposes. This body later became the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The U.S. government implemented a specific program aimed at advancing this plan called "Atoms for Peace," which provided research reactors, nuclear fuel, and scientific training to developing countries seeking to advance their nuclear programs. Mark Fitzpatrick, director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, states that one of the motivations for advancing this plan was the Cold War conditions and the competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to attract allied countries with promises of nuclear energy. Iran was among the first countries to welcome this proposal and requested assistance from Washington. In 1957, the governments of Iran and the U.S. signed an agreement for cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, officially titled "Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy." According to Mark Fitzpatrick, the U.S. decision to sign this agreement had both economic and political motivations. He notes, "Iran was looking to start and develop a broad nuclear program, and it was believed that most of the necessary technology and equipment would be purchased from the U.S." Two years later, in 1959, Iran built its research reactor at the University of Tehran. In 1967, the U.S. delivered a five-megawatt research reactor and the enriched uranium needed for the reactor's fuel to Iran. In the following years, Iran used this research reactor for some of its controversial nuclear activities, including the country's first experiences in uranium enrichment. To prove to the international community that its nuclear programs were peaceful, Iran was one of the first countries to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in July 1968. Iran ratified this treaty in 1970, thus joining the first group of countries that, on paper, had the right to enrich uranium. The "Atoms for Peace" program, in addition to selling technology and equipment, allowed Iranian scholars to study in the U.S. in fields related to nuclear technology. Iran could not utilize the research reactor at the University of Tehran without training its experts abroad. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi announced in 1974 his ambitious nuclear program aimed at constructing 23 nuclear reactors over the next 20 years. To advance this program, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran was established. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran sought to train its personnel at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the best engineering universities in the U.S., to develop a special program for training Iranian experts in nuclear energy. The first group of Iranian specialists was trained under this program. Mark Fitzpatrick states, "There were undoubtedly concerns about the goals of the Shah's nuclear program from that time. Historical documents indicate that he harbored a weapons program in mind. However, he made little progress, partly because the U.S. changed its policy regarding the provision of sensitive nuclear technology to other countries." Like today, the U.S. government was concerned at that time about the possibility of Iran using uranium enrichment to build a nuclear bomb. Based on declassified U.S. government documents from the mid-1970s, Washington opposed Iran's plan to establish a nuclear reprocessing center, and this issue became a problem in negotiations regarding the sale of a nuclear reactor to Iran. Mark Fitzpatrick believes that ultimately the U.S. government opposed providing nuclear technology to the Shah of Iran and prevented him from obtaining this technology from other sources as well. Akbar Etemad, the first head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, stated in an exclusive interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that negotiations with the U.S. and the Soviet Union faced problems from the very beginning, and he concluded that neither country was willing to deal with Iran in this regard. During the Shah's regime, Iran was only able to sign a contract with one Western company for the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, with the German company Kraftwerk Union, which was then a subsidiary of Siemens. Akbar Etemad cannot say with certainty that the Shah's goal was to produce nuclear weapons. However, he recalls that Mohammad Reza Pahlavi indirectly stated in the 1970s that he would seek to produce such weapons if necessary. Mr. Etemad recalls that at that time, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi emphasized that Iran was a regional military power and did not need nuclear weapons. But he said that if conditions changed in the next twenty years, "we must see what actions need to be taken." In a 2003 interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro, Akbar Etemad stated that he formed a special group for nuclear research aimed at acquiring all the necessary knowledge for Iranian decision-makers "so that if the need arose to build a nuclear bomb, they could make the right decision in the required time." In 1979, the cooperation between Iran and the U.S. in the field of nuclear energy ultimately ceased in an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust, primarily for political reasons. The Islamic Revolution ended the Shah's regime, and since then, formal relations between Tehran and Washington, and of course nuclear cooperation between the two countries, have been severed.