Finding a peaceful solution for the Iranian claims of nuclear weaponry
Nuclear weapon has been a pressing issue in Iran for the last fifty years. In 1957, the United States signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Iran and just ten years afterwards, in 1967, the Iranian nuclear program has been launched. During that year, a nuclear research center was built in Tehran, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) was formed and the US supplied Iran with enriched Uranium and plutonium. On 1974 the constructions of a nuclear power plant in Bushehr started, with the support of the US and Germany. Shortly after that the AEOI has established the nuclear plans of Iran.
Between the years 1979 (the Islamic revolution in Iran) and 1996 the Iranian nuclear program was put into freeze. On 1996 Iran and China informed the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) that they are going to construct a nuclear enrichment facility in Iran. Under the US’s pressure, China left this project and Iran was left alone to continue building the facilities by itself.
Since 2002 there has been a great change in the Iranian nuclear program. Firstly, the US accused Iran to be developing weapons of mass destruction, then, the IAEA reported that Iran was not giving all the information it was supposed to give it, and therefore demanded a comprehensive declaration of the Iranian nuclear plans. Once it was given to the IAEA, Iran was no longer suspected in developing an atomic bomb. The US never believed that and kept suspecting.
Since then, every month there has been some kind of development in the issue. Iran was taking actions in clearing the nuclear facilities, or not – as suspected by the US, other countries were accusing Iran for lying and faking facts etc.
Iran is signed on the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) since 1968. This treaty deals with the limit of spread of nuclear weapons around the world and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Do we, the Security Council, let this go on? Think of both sides – what if Iran develops the nuclear energy really for peaceful uses and not as some of the other countries think – for creating a nuclear weapon? What if Iran is developing nuclear weapon? How does the Security Council handle this situation?
Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_program_of_Iran
http://www.cfr.org/publication/13031/albright.html
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Focus/IaeaIran/index.shtml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4031603.stm
Iran News - The New York Times
