Iran's Nuclear Energy Plant at Bushehr
This huge atomic energy plant was being
constructed near the Persian Gulf city of Bushehr.
With the cooperation and support of West Germany, Iran was building two reactors, each
with
a capacity of 1,200 megawatts to be operational in 1980. Their function would have been to
support
the growing energy needs of Iran. During summertime, outside work was almost
suspended during the excessive
heat of day but continued unabated through the cool of the night. The entire programme
came to an abrupt end in 1979.
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Since its inception in 1974, Iran's nuclear energy policy has been a
matter of controversy in Iran and abroad. Why did a country that floated over a sea of oil
and gas need nuclear energy for electrical power? Was Iran after nuclear bomb? What did
the Shah have in mind for the future? Did Iran's nuclear energy policy under the Shah lay
the ground for the Islamic Republic to go after nuclear weapons? Which countries benefited
form Iran's policies? How did Iran react to the Unites States' overlordship of the nuclear
non-proliferation regime? Who ran Iran's energy policy? How far had Iran advanced in
nuclear technology? These questions and much more are asked, answered and discussed in
this candid interview with Akbar Etemad, a nuclear physicist who established the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran
and developed and led it until a few months before the 1979 revolution. This is an
absorbing account of the Shah's visions, politics, tactics, and reactions as Iran's
nuclear energy industry grew and as Iran became increasingly involved in the politics of
nuclear energy on the world scene. It is also a significant statement about Iran's state
of economic and technological development before the revolution. Below are some 2003 views
on the question:
Atomic Energy Organization of Iran
SEE URANIUM MINES IN IRAN from Ali
Rezai - Kayhan of London Thursday - June 11, 2003
Washington
Post - Iran Nuclear Program Speeds Ahead March 10, 2003
SEE Guive
Mirfendereski's article on Iran's Nuclear Program One of many views - June
20, 2003
Another View from the BBC
London June 19, 2003
