Iran's+Nuclear+Program

Iran's Nuclear Program -Ryan Guy The Iranian nuclear program was launched in the 1950s with the help of the United States as part of the Atoms for Peace program. After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the government temporarily disbanded the program, and then revived it .with less Western assistance than during the pre-revolution era, Iran's current effort includes several research sites, a uranium mine, a nuclear reactor, and uranium processing facilities that include a uranium enrichment plant. The Iranian government asserts that the program's goal is to develop nuclear power plants, and that it plans to use them to generate 6,000 MW of electricity by 2010. The U.S. and some other nations' officials allege the program covers an attempt to acquire nuclear weapons. Iran's officials have categorically denied these accusations and insisted that they will maintain their right to peaceful nuclear technology. United Nations sanctions On 31 July 2006 the United Nations Security Council demanded Iran to suspend all enrichment and reprocessing related activities. In December they imposed a series of sanctions on Iran for its non-compliance with IAEA Board resolutions requiring a "voluntary" suspension of enrichment. These sanctions were primarily targetted against the transfer of nuclear and ballistic missile technologies and, in response to concerns of China and Russia, were lighter than that sought by the United States. Following a report from the IAEA that all declared nuclear sites it had inspected were compliant. The Iranians had permitted inspections at non-nuclear facilities such as the Parchin Military Complex, which was suspected of being an undeclared nuclear facility but where no evidence of a nuclear weapons program was found there either, but that this did not apply to activities at non-declared sites, the target of the sanctions were widened in March 2007.The implementation of the sanctions is monitored by a Security Council Committee. The August agreement with the IAEA A confidential International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) report reviewed by Reuters states that Iran's uranium enrichment program is operating well below capacity, is far from producing nuclear fuel in significant amounts, and is not making significant enrichment progress. The report details Iranian cooperation with IAEA inspectors based on the August 21, 2007 agreement between Iran and the IAEA. According to Reuters, the report is likely to blunt Washington's push for more severe sanctions against Iran. If Washington pushes for tougher sanctions, "our process will face a setback at a minimum, if not a halt," said a senior U.N. official familiar with IAEA program on Iran, reflecting IAEA concerns that U.S.-led efforts to escalate penalties could only corner nationalistic Iran and goad it to freeze out inspectors. According to the IAEA's published report, the modalities agreed with Iran "cover all remaining issues and the Agency confirmed that there are no other remaining issues and ambiguities regarding Iran's past nuclear program and activities." Furthermore, the agency's delegation is of the view that "the agreement on the above issues shall further promote the efficiency of the implementation of safeguards in Iran and its ability to conclude the exclusive peaceful nature of the Iran's nuclear activities." Crucially, the IAEA has also "been able to verify the non-diversion of the declared nuclear materials at the enrichment facilities in Iran and has therefore concluded that it remains in peaceful use." The Iranian viewpoint Iran says that nuclear power is necessary for a booming population and rapidly-industrializing nationlran insists that nuclear power is necessary for a booming population and rapidly-industrializing nation. It points to the fact that Iran's population has more than doubled in 20 years, the country regularly imports gasoline and electricity, and that burning fossil fuel in large amounts severely harms Iran's   environment. Additionally, Iran wishes to diversify its sources of energy. __Iran S Oil rESBFVCS__ are currently estimated at 133 billion barrels, at a current pumping rate of 1.5-1.8 billion barrels per year. This is only enough oil to last the next 74-89 years assuming pumping rates are steady and additional reserves are not found. In taking a stance that the Shah expressed decades ago, Iranians feel its valuable oil should be used for high-value products, not simple electricity generation. "Petroleum is a noble material, much too valuable to burn... We envision producing, as soon as possible, 23 000 megawatts of electricity using nuclear plants.   US and Western European viewpoints    The view of the US government and several major European nations is that Iran's primary goal is not developing electrical power generation resources but nuclear weapons. They cite Iran's concealment of many nuclear activities for nearly two decades in violation of    its NPT safeguards obligations. According to the The Economist magazine, "even before the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Iran was negotiating in bad faith. During this period, European officials believe, it continued to work in secret on nuclear research, having promised to suspend uranium enrichment."Note that Iran only promised to suspend enrichment on a temporary basis, which it verifiably did according to the IAEA, but did not make promise to suspend all nuclear research. The Iranians also attribute the concealment of portions of their nuclear program to the fact that the US repeatedly hampered their overt attempts at acquiring the necessary technology for their program.   Some skeptics also argue that energy and economic considerations would not justify Iran's nuclear power program, since "if Iran really were short on energy, it could build gas-fired power plants at much lower cost, or make better use of its vast hydraulic resources;" and that the huge investment needed for nuclear power would pay greater returns if used to maintain or upgrade Iran's basic oil industry infrastructure.However, Iran has made significant investments in hydroelectricity, by opening its largest hydroelectric dams, the __Karun-__ 3 as part of efforts to diversify Energy in Iraa.independent studies conducted in the __National Academy of Science in the__