Is Iran seeking nuclear arms?

[Clintonista2]

Poll question: Is Iran seeking nuclear arms?

[TwilightGardener]

1. Yeah, with all that oil, I'm sure they REALLY need nuclear power...

:eyes: --of course they want nuclear weapons. That's how you gain power and respect in the world.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

3. In fairness, they do have domestic energy problems (But I agree with your bottom line)

[TwilightGardener]

8. I have no idea if or how their oil is used for domestic energy, but

surely it could be traded, right? I also heard that they're desperate for natural gas. I dunno. Just seems unlikely that they're really on a quest for nuke energy.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

10. Given their terrain (all peaks and valleys) they might have environmental issues

with coal and oil for electricity. And adding gasoline refining capacity might be as expensive as going for nuke power.

I agree that they're seeking arms... just covering the devil's advocate side.

[atreides1]

4. Having nuclear weapons can also be used as a deterent.

If Iran gets a nuke, the US will have to think twice about attacking, won't it?

[LSparkle]

5. Well, except U.S. advisors of the Shah advocated for nuclear power ...

back in the '70s (conserve the oil for other uses, like selling it to us). Not to say that they're NOT seeking nuclear weapons, but I think there's also a chance that they've decided they should pursue nuclear power just for peaceful purposes.

[JohnnyBoots]

14. and stop invasion......n/t

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

24. Yes, they can't have overlooked our MO

[incapsulated]

15. Exactly, and the Iraq war created a power vacuum

That they are eager to fill.

In MY opinion, people should just resign themselves to it. We live with all sorts of hostile nations who have nukes.

[Hobarticus]

2. Who isn't?

:shrug:

[Nederland]

6. The Dali Lama?

Pretty much everone else is though...

[Hobarticus]

19. So I said, "hey, Lama...something, you know, for the trouble?"

And he said, "oh, there'll be no money. But on your deathbed, you'll achieve first-strike capability. So I got that going for me."

Alright, you got me there.

[LakeSamish706]

7. Whose to say that Iran doesn't already have Nukes given to them by...

either Russia or North Korea?

[harun]

31. So what if they do?

The point everyone is missing is that even if they have them, want them, or are working to get them, they cannot use them, just like every other country on Earth. It is called mutually assured destruction.

[Bumblebee]

9. It's like with Chavez. Is it great that he opposes Bush? -- Yes.

Is he a great guy? -- No. Should Iran be attacked? -- of course NOT but let's not be naive in terms of whether they want nuclear weapons. Of course they do. Israel has them -- why wouldn't Iran want to match that? Are they close to it now? No. Would they be dangerous when they get them? -- with a nutty pres of the kind they have now, obviously Yes. Can diplomacy work? Yes. So it's all that, and while Clinton was wrong to vote the way she did on Iran -- she is right about their desire to acquire the weapons.

[LakeSamish706]

11. Is the US currently dangerous with Nuclear weapons? You bet your ass ...

they are. If it weren't for the nut jobs in the current Administration, the rest of the world would be a much safer place... So Iran with a Nuclear weapon would not be any different than the US with Nukes under this bunch of mad monsters.

[Bumblebee]

12. No argument there

but that's not what this poll was about :)

[BootinUp]

13. yes

There is no other explanation that fits the puzzle.

[emilyg]

16. Yes.

[bunnies]

17. Respectfully...

Lots of people thought Saddam had WMD's as well.

[Basileus Basileon]

18. Of course they are.

That doesn't mean I support war with them.

[JohnLocke]

20. Yes, of course.

[Hawkowl]

21. Duh!

Let's see. Hmmmmm. Iran's neighbors are: Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Israel. All have access to nuclear weapons. (The US occupies Iraq and Afghanistan and you can bet your ass the US navy has nukes pointed at Iran in the Persian Gulf).

So yes, I think it's safe to say they are pursuing nuclear weapons. Because that is the only way they can somewhat guarantee our violent, war mongering country won't attack them.

Containment is the sane option. Containment and reducing the number of nuclear weapons in the middle east instead of encouraging their development is what needs to be done. Attacking Iran is like burning down your house to prevent flood damage.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

22. They'd be crazy not to

[lawn2garden]

23. not in a meaningful way

Iran's future in energy consumption/production looks bleak if they fail in converting to nuclear generation, check out this DOE link that shows their dependency on their own oil and gas production: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Iran/Full.html and remember oil and gas are a finite resource.
Countries with nuclear energy capacity rely on enriched uranium. Enriched uranium is produced by only a handful of nations cornering the market of this product. Nuclear energy may very well become the dominant means of energy production world wide and for this reason I believe iran is planning to be a major player in suppling nuclear reactors with the fuel they need.
As far as Iran seeking the bomb? maybe further down the road, but Personally I think it's more trouble than what it's worth, forming strategic alliances with Russia, China and other nations in the region seems simpler. The immediate future,in the meantime, energy production and distribution seems more lucrative, it's what Iran does best.

[calteacherguy]

25. Certain elements within Iran are; Iran is not monolithic. nt

[Hippo_Tron]

26. Maybe

Their intentions are pretty unclear. They may be seeking nuclear weapons and they may also be trying to gain leverage so that we will unfreeze their assets.

[Freddie Stubbs]

27. The country with one the largest reserves in oil is simply developing nuclear energy

[slipslidingaway]

28. U.S. Atoms for Peace programme...

"1950s and 60s

The foundations for Iran's nuclear program were laid after a 1953, CIA-supported coup deposed democratically-elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh and brought Shah (King) Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to power.<13> By 1957, the West judged the regime sufficiently stable and friendly that nuclear proliferation would not become a threat.

That year, a civil nuclear co-operation program was established under the U.S. Atoms for Peace programme. In 1967, the Tehran Nuclear Research Center (TNRC) was established, run by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). The TNRC was equipped with a U.S.-supplied, 5-megawatt nuclear research reactor, which became operational in 1967 and was fueled by highly enriched uranium.<14> Iran signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968 and ratified it in 1970. With the establishment of Iran's atomic agency and the NPT in place, the Shah approved plans to construct, with U.S. help, up to 23 nuclear power stations by the year 2000...


1970s

In March 1974, the Shah envisioned a time when the world's oil supply would run out, and declared, "Petroleum is a noble material, much too valuable to burn... We envision producing, as soon as possible, 23 000 megawatts of electricity using nuclear plants."<15> Bushehr would be the first plant, and would supply energy to the inland city of Shiraz. In 1975, the Bonn firm Kraftwerk Union AG, a joint venture of Siemens AG and AEG Telefunken, signed a contract worth $4 to $6 billion to build the pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant. Construction of the two 1,196 MWe nuclear generating units was subcontracted to ThyssenKrupp, and was to have been completed in 1981.

"President Gerald Ford signed a directive in 1976 offering Tehran the chance to buy and operate a U.S.-built reprocessing facility for extracting plutonium from nuclear reactor fuel. The deal was for a complete 'nuclear fuel cycle'."<16> At the time, Richard Cheney was the White House Chief of Staff, and Donald Rumsfeld was the Secretary of Defense. The Ford strategy paper said 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."


See link for ad...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_program_of_Iran

"Advertisement from the 1970s by American nuclear-energy companies, using Iran's nuclear program as a marketing ploy."

[sampsonblk]

29. Yep, its the holy grail of geopolitics-nt

[ellisonz]

30. Yes.