The Institute of Science and International Security’s new book Iran’s
Perilous Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons chronicles the Islamic Republic of
Iran’s efforts to build nuclear weapons. The book draws from original
Iranian documents seized by Israel’s Mossad in 2018 in a dramatic
overnight raid in Tehran. The “Nuclear Archive” allows deep insight into
the country’s effort to secretly build nuclear weapons. The book relies
on unprecedented access to archive documents, many translated by the
Institute into English for the first time. The first part of the book
concentrates on Iran’s crash nuclear weapons program in the early 2000s
to build five nuclear weapons and an industrial complex to produce many
more. By 2003, responding to growing pressure from European powers to
freeze its publicly known nuclear programs and fearing a possible U.S.
military attack, Iran’s leaders decided to downsize, but not stop, their
secret nuclear weapons effort. The second part of the book discusses
Iran’s nuclear path post-2003, revealing a careful plan to continue
nuclear weapons work, overcome bottlenecks and better camouflage nuclear
weapons development activities.Since 2003, the Islamic Republic’s
nuclear scientists and weaponeers have concentrated on establishing
capabilities to make weapon-grade uranium and developing more reliable,
longer-range ballistic missiles. Work on the nuclear weapon itself also
has continued. Given how much Iran learned about building nuclear
weapons during its crash program, combined with its post-2003
accomplishments, the country has developed a sophisticated capability to
make nuclear weapons. Iran appears to have a program to be prepared to
make nuclear weapons and to do so on short order. Rather than a crash
nuclear weapons program, Iran threatens the world with a program ready
to produce nuclear weapons “on-demand.” Iran’s nuclear weapons
capabilities pose great risks. If Iran detonates a nuclear explosive or
demonstrates possession in another way, nuclear-tipped ballistic
missiles are sure to follow at a later date. The Middle East will become
more dangerous and far less able to walk back from the nuclear
precipice. Nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament efforts throughout
the world could suffer irredeemably. The story of Iran’s pursuit of
nuclear weapons is nearing a climax. Iran’s Perilous Pursuit of Nuclear
Weapons is a comprehensive assessment of Iran’s nuclear weapons
activities and the country’s longstanding subterfuges. Extensively
illustrated with color photos and diagrams from the Nuclear Archive, the
book contains much new information and analysis, invaluable in any
discussion of the most effective ways to ensure Iran does not build
nuclear weapons, indispensable for all those concerned about the spread
of nuclear weapons, arms control, and the future of the Middle East.
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