The Nuclear Program of Iran

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict, Security, grade: 2,0, University of the Federal Armed Forces München (Institut für Politikwissenschaft), course: U.S. Nonproliferation and Counterproliferation Policy, language: English, abstract: Since the uprising in North Africa and the Middle East and the horrific tsunami in Japan the nuclear program of Iran moved into the background of international politics. But the issue is still newsworthy. For many years Iran is in a negative focus of Western governments and media. The reason for this is the speculation about the secret development of a nuclear bomb by Iran in coherence with its nuclear program. There has been some evidence that Tehran strives for becoming a nuclear power. In 2002 the uranium enrichment plant in Natanz and the heavy-water reactor in Arak were detected. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) started their investigations, but could not find any sign for a military nuclear program, although they talk about a 'policy of deception' by Iran. They stated therefore simply: 'Iran has failed to meet its obligations under its Safeguard Agreements with respect to the reporting of nuclear material, the subsequent processing and use of that material and the declaration of facilities where the material was stored and processed'. This event called up distrust by the West. The Western states, mainly the United States, Great Britain, France and Germany still accuse Iran to keep some parts of the nuclear program secret, while officials of the Iranian government try to assure the intention for a peaceful use of nuclear energy. One of the main problems is that a military nuclear program is hard to differ from a peaceful one. The difference between a peaceful nuclear program and a military nuclear program, with a nuclear bomb in its result, is only approximately 5 percent in the final-stage of the development. When Iran would have been built up the full nuclear cycle for a peaceful use of nuclear energy the country would have the possibility to develop nuclear weapons in a short time. This leads necessarily to the question which of these positions is the right one. Does Iran really like to develop the nuclear bomb or is the fear of the West disproportionate? If Iran tries to use 'atoms for peace' there should be no problem, but the last years where characterized by secretiveness from the Iranian side towards the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a lurching in the bargaining position during the negotiations with the United States and the EU-3 (Great Britain, France and Germany). To the Western civilization this seems as an indication for a secret military nuclear program...