*Includes pictures
*Includes a table of contents
"I perfectly understand the particular attention which you pay to the question of nuclear energy...In this field my wish is for Iran to put all her efforts towards the peaceful use of atomic energy. We shall continue to cooperate with all nations of the world to attain this end in the interests of human society." - Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, April
Those who know Iran only as one of the West's primary antagonists in the Middle East might find it difficult to believe that the aforementioned quote was ever uttered by one of the nation's notoriously vicious and uncompromising leaders. After all, on July 21, 2003, in a speech urging Middle Eastern governments to band together and "[fight] terrorism in all its forms," President George W. Bush had declared that terrorism was fueling the governments of Syria and Iran. About 2 years later, he reiterated the bold statement in his State of the Union address, lambasting Iran as the world's "primary state sponsor of terror."
These hostile sentiments towards Iran only continued to escalate. President Donald Trump blasted the Iranian administration as a two-faced, "murderous regime" with destructive agendas hidden up its sleeves during his first speech to the United Nations assembly as the Commander in Chief of the White House. "It is time for the entire world to join us in demanding that Iran's government end its pursuit of death and destruction," Trump thundered into his microphone. "...And above all, Iran's government must stop supporting terrorists, begin serving its own people, and respect the sovereign rights of its neighbors." U.S. Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, caused another wave of unrest when he parroted the words of President Bush. "As far as Iran goes, this is the single biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world."
Needless to say, the rumors regarding Iran's nuclear capabilities and the murky nature of the regime have understandably left many a nation and their leaders on the edge of their seats. The volatile nation's deep-seated loathing of the West, particularly the United States and Israel, have only added to the jitters worldwide. Experts insist that the Iranian propaganda program, which many say outrival even North Korea's, is chiefly responsible for entrenching into its masses this resentment of the West and their liberal ideals.
Since the Iranian Revolution, Western nations and their intelligence agencies have struggled to fully grasp what goes on in Iran, and it has resulted in a situation that reads like a spy thriller. The last decade has featured the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists, the use of sophisticated cyberattacks like Stuxnet, the construction of a hidden enrichment facility underneath a mountain, ongoing arguments over the nature of Iran's nuclear program, efforts to determine whether there was potential procurement and testing of materials that would be used in nuclear weapons, debates over ballistic missiles, and a 2015 agreement between Iran and several world powers that remains a controversial issue to this day. There is even substantial concern that Iran and North Korea are jointly working on their nuclear programs, with Iranian scientists witnessing North Korean nuclear weapons tests and North Korean scientists in Iran overseeing research and development. And as if the convoluted nature of Iran's nuclear program in the 21st century wasn't enough, the story had even more twists and turns dating back to the 1950s.
Iran's Nuclear Program: The Controversial History of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Nuclear Research and Uranium Enrichment looks at how Iran has developed its nuclear energy program, and the debate over whether the Iranians intend to arm itself with nuclear weapons. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Iran's nuclear program like never before.