Policy Paper on Iran’s Nuclear Program: Strategy Options for the United States

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Iraq perceived the situation as a great opportunity to regain the territories ceded to Iran in The Iran-Iraq War ended in , after ruining both countries. The new situation offered both risks and opportunities for Iran. In return, Iran approached Russia and Armenia for support on regional matters in the post-Cold War period.

The September 11, , attacks and subsequent shifts in American foreign policy brought another dimension to U. In addition, energy and military agreements between the United States and the Central Asian republics made Iran feel even more contained. Some experts believe the threat posed by the United States caused Tehran to secretly accelerate its nuclear program.

Policy Paper on Iran’s Nuclear Program

The Iranian nuclear program was ambitious from the beginning. Oil prices soared, especially after the Arab-Israeli war, allowing the Iranian government to invest more in nuclear-energy development. This agreement was designed to facilitate Iranian-American nuclear cooperation, including the purchase of equipment and material from the United States and help in the search for uranium deposits.

The political upheaval preceding and following the revolution halted the Iranian nuclear program. By , one nuclear reactor, Bushehr 1, was 90 percent complete, with 60 percent of its equipment installed; Bushehr 2 was 50 percent complete.

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The second factor that prevented Iran from developing a nuclear capacity earlier was the Iran-Iraq War of The Iranian government sought international technical assistance and collaboration to complete the nuclear facilities from Germany, Argentina, Spain, the Czech Republic, Italy and Poland. The agreement also stipulated that Russia would provide further technical assistance and the training of Iranian nuclear scientists.

Russian completion of the Bushehr reactors is an immensely complex task. Back in the s, the Kraftwerk Union did not provide any technical documents for the installation of the reactors. The Iranian nuclear program is highly dependent on foreign technology transfer, and it seems that it will continue to be. Israeli and American analysts, in particular, suggest that the development of these capabilities poses a security threat to the region.

The current crisis began in August , when an Iranian exile opposition group, the National Council of Resistance Mujahedin-e Khalq , accused Tehran of hiding a uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz and a heavy-water plant at Arak. The IAEA concluded that there was no evidence of the program, but the United States insists that Iran ultimately aims to produce nuclear weapons, particuarily as the country possesses enormous fossil-fuel reserves and does not need nuclear energy in the short and medium term.

The EU3 offered economic concessions, if these conditions were met. The rest of the world, including the United States, supported the EU3 initiative and a diplomatic solution to the problem. In August , Iran rejected the proposal, and the talks were stopped. During fall , Iran was encouraged to resume talks with the EU-3, to refrain from enrichment at other nuclear facilities and to halt enrichment at the Isfahan plant.

Iran also declared that it had resumed its uranium conversion at Natanz. In April , President Ahmedinejad announced that uranium enrichment had been successfully achieved. Iran did not comply and has continued with its enrichment activities. On March 24, , the UNSC unanimously accepted Resolution tightening sanctions against Iran and giving Tehran 60 days to suspend its uranium enrichment program.


  • Iran's Nuclear Program and the Future of U.S.-Iranian Relations | Middle East Policy Council?
  • Iran's Nuclear Program and the Future of U.S.-Iranian Relations.
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To summarize, Iran is still a member of the NPT and, under the terms of this agreement, member states have the right to develop a nuclear program for peaceful purposes, including enrichment. This is why Iranians repeatedly emphasize that they are simply doing what they are allowed to do: However, the fears of the United States, the EU and regional actors are not all groundless. Successive American administrations have claimed that a major U. However, even if this is the case, it can only be as a means to achieve these four genuine security-oriented goals above.

Policy Paper on Iran's Nuclear Program - Renard Teipelke - Google Книги

They are truly intertwined; losing out in one of them can induce serious costs in others. For example, the spread of WMDs would make terrorist threats more critical. Similarly, terrorism is a threat to both energy security and Israel. Therefore, interests must be considered together.

Making The Case For The Iran Nuclear Deal

A striking fact about U. First and foremost, Iran is not under U. In fact, Iran is capable of interrupting the transport of oil from the Hormuz Strait and making its own energy-export deals with Russia, China and Turkey and perhaps also the EU in the future. Second, Iran is the greatest supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah in the region. Third, the United States claims that Iran is meddling with Iraqi Shia groups and preventing the stabilization of Iraq, 18 and represents the biggest obstacle to thwarting radical Islamic groups in the region. Lastly, the possibility that Iran could produce nuclear weapons is a nightmare for the United States.

The Iranian state has two primary interests: Iran has some geopolitical advantages.

Its great land mass and inhospitable terrain are enormous advantages against foreign military penetration. In , Iran was the fourth-largest producer of oil and natural gas in the world, while current oil production is estimated to be 4. Its reserves of oil and gas have not yet been revealed. The third factor that gives Iran an advantage is its young and comparatively well-educated population: For example, about a quarter of it is ethnic Azeri, mostly in the north.

The United States regards Iran as the greatest threat to its regional interests. If Iran were to produce nuclear weapons, its military capabilities would insure the Islamic regime from attack. Iran perceives acquiring a nuclear-weapons capability as the only way to eliminate the American threat.

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The problems between the United States and Iran are all intertwined with the nuclear issue. Iran is trying to acquire a nuclear capability to thwart U. We will present four scenarios for U. We cannot make an accurate prediction about when one phase will end and the other begin.


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The United States has been using diplomacy and politics to isolate Iran since the crisis began in and will continue to do so. If Iran cannot achieve this, it will try to delay such a consensus until it actually acquires nuclear weapons capabilities. Therefore, we expect Iran to cultivate closer relations with Russia and China.

The longer the crisis, the more conventional weapons and nuclear technology Russia can sell to Iran. Russia can also use this crisis against the United States on other issues, such as NATO expansion to the Caucasus or American plans to deploy embryonic missile-defense systems to Eastern Europe. We estimate that China will try to balance American pressure on Iran; yet, due to its economic interdependence with the United States, China may shift to a more pro-Western position.

Iran may offer special energy supply deals to China in order to gain its support. Finally, Iran might use anti-Israeli propaganda in its support of Islamic nations. Therefore, Washington will probably try to achieve international support next time it intervenes in the region and has been using legal arguments against Iran from the beginning. According to this point of view, Iran is developing a nuclear-weapons capability that is in breach of the NPT signed by Iran in Social unrest can trigger political demands, especially from the young reformist students.

The gas shortage in Tehran is illustrative. First and foremost, it could attempt to disrupt the supply to international energy markets. However, considering how much Iran depends on oil revenues, this is not a realistic option. Second, Iran could threaten to change its dollar reserves to euros to hurt the American economy; however, Iranian currency reserves are limited.

The use of psychological tools to mobilize the public for political change requires minimal resources. Media and internet discussions questioning the legitimacy of the regime can be promoted. For example, in , the U. There are three fault lines that the United States could use against the Iranian regime: About 90 percent of Iranian population is Shia; the rest are the Sunnis, who have been denied equality by the Shia regime.

The Sunnis are also Turkmens and Kurds, which brings ethnicity into the equation. Iran is also multiethnically diverse. The Kurds are in the west, the Arabs in the south, the Turkmens in the northeast and the Baluchis in the east. The Persian elite is particuarliy concerned about their Azeri minority, since the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan is now independent.

Finally, economic hardships and inequality can cause unrest. This research studies Russian army services; considers substitute U.

Pherson and Katherine Hibbs Pherson replace their very popular, easy-to-use instruction manual for constructing middle severe pondering talents and analytic innovations. This necessary textual content is framed round 20 key questions that each one analysts needs to ask themselves as they organize to behavior learn, generate hypotheses, assessment resources of data, draft papers, and eventually current research. Strategy Options for the United States. Download e-book for iPad: Strategy Options for by Renard Teipelke. By Renard Teipelke Seminar paper from the 12 months within the topic Politics - overseas Politics - subject: Peace and clash experiences, protection, grade: The Iranian nuclear application has been one of many significant controversies in overseas affairs within the twenty first century.

Neither may perhaps Iran persuade the overseas neighborhood that it doesn't intend to paintings on a application for nuclear guns, nor might the U.