Scaremongering? Iran’s Nuclear Program

A recent post of mine entitled “Why Wouldn’t Iran Want Nukes?” received the following comment from “Hass” that should be addressed at length:

Ummm….Iran’s nuclear program started under the Shah, with the encouragement and support of the United States, because it makes economic sense for them to be able to continue exporting their oil and gas instead of consuming it at home. Stop the meaningless scaremongering.

I have no interest in scaremongering, so let’s discuss it.  A brief synopsis of the history of Iran’s nuclear program from the Council on Foreign Relations (hardly an outfit known for scaremongering) confirms that Hass’s facts are correct (emphasis mine):

Iran’s leaders have worked to pursue nuclear energy technology since the 1950s, spurred by the launch of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace program. It made steady progress, with Western help, through the early 1970s.

So, does that end the conversation as Hass implies that it should?  Hardly, for two reasons:

1. “Outside assistance” slowed in 1974 when “a U.S. special national intelligence estimate (PDF) declared that while ‘Iran’s much publicized nuclear power intentions are entirely in the planning stage,’ the ambitions of the shah could lead Iran to pursue nuclear weapons…”
2. The shah, whose nuclear program the U.S. had assisted in the 1950s, was violently overthrown in 1979 by Islamic radicals, “effectively ending outside assistance.”

So, there’s a clear breaking point between the era of U.S. assistance and today’s Islamic regime, whom the U.S. has not aided in its pursuit of nuclear energy.

So, did the Islamic regime immediately pursue a nuclear weapon?  No:

The withdrawal of Western support after the Islamic Revolution slowed Iran’s nuclear progress. And a confluence of factors—opposition to nuclear technology by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the exodus of nuclear scientists, and the destruction of Iraq’s nuclear facility by Israel in 1981, which removed an immediate threat—sent Iran’s nuclear program into a tailspin.

Then when did it restart its nuclear program?  :

Iran was known to be reviving its civilian nuclear programs during the 1990s…

Then how are you sure Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon?  In short, I am not sure, but I am not the only one with suspicions:

…revelations in 2002 and 2003 of clandestine research into fuel enrichment and conversion raised international concern that Iran’s ambitions had metastasized beyond peaceful intent.

It stands to reason that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon based on the following facts:

1. Iran has a clear enemy in Israel
2. Iran has stated its desire to eliminate Israel
3. Iran is pursuing a nuclear program

Back to my original question:  Why wouldn’t Iran want nukes?   Based on the evidence, one really has to want to believe that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapon in order to believe that its nuclear program is peaceful.  Quite simply, Iran has no right to the benefit of the doubt on this issue.