CIAO DATE: 11/2012
November 2012
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
International diplomacy efforts dealing with Iran’s nuclear program continue to fill the daily news headlines. The efforts of P5+1, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) have tried, in various formats, to encourage and enforce Iran to comply with the provisions of the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) and its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program is not used as a cover for the development of nuclear weapons. The challenge of discovering what has taken place as well as currently with Iran’s nuclear ambitions is difficult not only because of Tehran’s obstructionism, but also because the same nuclear technologies, particularly uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing, can be used for both civilian and military purposes. This paper addresses current and near term uranium enrichment capabilities of Iran, and sheds light on the IAEA’s practices with regards to drawing safeguards conclusions.
Resource link: Iran's Nuclear Ambitions and Future Prospects [PDF] - 191K