Iran Nuclear: Weapons or Energy

During the 1970s, the Ford administration strongly supported the Shah of Iran’s plan to develop nuclear energy, according to The Washington Post. President Ford even endorsed a multibillion-dollar deal that would have provided Tehran with substantial quantities of plutonium and enriched uranium, either of which could be used to build nuclear bombs. “The introduction of nuclear power will both provide for the growing needs of Iran’s economy and free remaining oil reserves for export or conversion to petrochemicals,” said the Ford strategy paper.

Since the 1970s, Iran’s population has more than doubled. Meanwhile, its petroleum industry has spiralled in a relentless decline that could see its exports wiped out by the year 2015, according to Professor Roger Stern, an economic geographer at Johns Hopkins University. While not weighing into the weapons debate, Professor Stern believes that Iran’s energy crisis is real and increasingly urgent.
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