What is the Iranian nuclear program? Thanks for asking!

On November 27th, nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was shot dead a few miles away from Iranian capital city Tehran.

Iran has accused Israel of being behind the assassination, using a remote-controlled weapon with the help of an exiled opposition group. Taking out Fakhrizadeh is seen as a direct attack on the Iranian nuclear program, which has been a subject of controversy for many years.

So when did the Iranian nuclear program actually begin? 

It was launched in the 1950s by Shah Mohamed Reza Pahlavi, with the help of the United States. Ensuring the peaceful use of nuclear power was a critical global issue for some time, with the International Atomic Energy Agency formed in 1957 and the UN’s Non-Proliferation Treaty signed in 1968. 

Then in 1979, an Islamic revolution took place in Iran, with Ayatollah Khomeiny taking power. The country’s nuclear program was put on standby and things weren’t helped by a war with neighbouring Iraq in the 1980s, which saw a nuclear reactor bombarded and destroyed.

Fast forward to the 2000s and Iran began to advance in the development of its Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. Many international powers suspected the country of using the program as a cover for developing nuclear weapons. It was revealed that a uranium-enrichment site was under construction to the south of Tehran.

Were the suspicions founded then? What’s gone wrong since the 2015 deal? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

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