US introduced Iran with nuclear technology in 1960s — Then attacked it with B-2 bombers 65 years later | WION EXPLAINS

The US bunker-buster bombs deployed through B-2 stealth bombers attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities last weekend amid the Israel-Iran war, but shockingly, the United States was the one that provided Tehran with the seeds of nuclear technology. It all goes back to the 1960s, the US shipped the Tehran Research Reactor to Iran, as part of the “Atoms for Peace” program.

First, the US did this under the tag of "peace", but decades later, the US warplanes attacked Iran's nuclear sites, including Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow as it sees it as a threat now.

Atoms of Peace

Then US President Dwight D Eisenhower launched the "Atoms of Peace" programme, to share civilian technology with allies. At that time, Iran was ruled by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The country was a model Cold War partner, secular and eager to modernise.

The US introduced Iran with nuclear technology as it installed the Tehran Research Reactor, training Iranian scientists at elite institutions like MIT, and encouraging partnerships with European allies.

For the US, it was nothing more than a strategy to extend influence, contain Soviet power and show the "benevolent" use of atomic energy. But, little did it know, that it created an entire ecosystem of nuclear capacity inside Iran.

Robert Einhorn, a former US arms control negotiator and now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said, "We gave Iran its starter kit. We weren't terribly concerned about nuclear proliferation in those days, so we were pretty promiscuous about transferring nuclear technology."

However, the reactor does not contribute to Iran's enrichment of uranium, the arduous process that is a key process in making nuclear bombs. Moreover, it runs on nuclear fuel which is far too weak to even power a bomb.

Years later, it became an object of national pride for Iran and a potential source of military power.

But Iran which got the reactor in 1967 was very different from what it has become now. Then, it was led by a monarch, or shah, who was a Swiss-educated aristocrat. Pahlavi wanted to modernise his country and make it a world power but with America's support. He even banned the women's veil and promoted modern art.

But it didn't take much time for Shah to talk about Iran's "right" to produce nuclear fuel at home, something that can also be applied to nuclear weapons development.

But as the US showed concern and objected, Pahlavi turned to other nations for nuclear assistance, including Germany and South Africa.

US stopped delivering reactors

In 1978, the Carter administration raised concerns and insisted that an Iranian contract to purchase eight American reactors be amended. It then restricted Iran from reprocessing without permission. Then, the US never delivered reactors.

When the Islamic Revolution happened in 1979, it created hatred for America and support for the Shah. Iran’s new clerical rulers, led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, initially showed little interest in continuing an expensive project associated with the Shah and Western powers.

But later in the 1980s after an eight-year war with Iraq, Ayatollah Khameini reconsidered how much nuclear technology is needed and it turned to Pakistan. The Pakistani scientist and nuclear black marketeer Abdul Qadeer Khan sold Iran centrifuges to enrich uranium to bomb-grade levels of purity.

The real reason

Gary Samore, the top White House nuclear official in the Clinton and Obama administrations said that Iran acquiring centrifuges was the main reason its nuclear program escalated into a global issue.

“Iran’s enrichment program is not the result of U.S. assistance,” Samore said. “The Iranians got their centrifuge technology from Pakistan, and they have developed their centrifuges based on that Pakistani technology — which itself was based on European designs.”

But even after years, the issue remains unsolved between Iran and the US. Today, Trump announced that the US will be holding fresh talks with Iran next week, with a possible nuclear agreement on the table. This comes a day after Israel-Iran agreed to a ceasefire after a 12-day war.