Berliner Boersenzeitung - Iran's nuclear programme: from its origins to today's dispute

EUR -
AED 4.293297
AFN 80.91457
ALL 97.787182
AMD 448.803483
ANG 2.093049
AOA 1072.008381
ARS 1467.658759
AUD 1.776114
AWG 2.107191
AZN 1.992006
BAM 1.954944
BBD 2.359867
BDT 142.117771
BGN 1.954944
BHD 0.440607
BIF 3482.375178
BMD 1.169038
BND 1.495545
BOB 8.093456
BRL 6.502078
BSD 1.168788
BTN 100.194128
BWP 15.604167
BYN 3.824825
BYR 22913.14706
BZD 2.347672
CAD 1.60129
CDF 3373.844424
CHF 0.929041
CLF 0.028934
CLP 1110.323824
CNY 8.380309
CNH 8.386416
COP 4691.84559
CRC 589.441902
CUC 1.169038
CUP 30.97951
CVE 110.21674
CZK 24.665189
DJF 208.128867
DKK 7.461795
DOP 70.379183
DZD 151.705573
EGP 57.855667
ERN 17.535572
ETB 161.021794
FJD 2.621276
FKP 0.865592
GBP 0.864385
GEL 3.16855
GGP 0.865592
GHS 12.154678
GIP 0.865592
GMD 83.590727
GNF 10140.559771
GTQ 8.978069
GYD 244.522931
HKD 9.175551
HNL 30.573613
HRK 7.533988
HTG 153.40283
HUF 399.5543
IDR 18972.787189
ILS 3.894218
IMP 0.865592
INR 100.333285
IQD 1531.029611
IRR 49231.122092
ISK 142.400984
JEP 0.865592
JMD 186.898163
JOD 0.828894
JPY 171.328427
KES 151.00388
KGS 102.232832
KHR 4685.948172
KMF 492.340851
KPW 1052.134304
KRW 1612.291055
KWD 0.357481
KYD 0.973974
KZT 610.66261
LAK 25187.970987
LBP 104720.046415
LKR 351.4761
LRD 234.337391
LSL 20.841074
LTL 3.451866
LVL 0.70714
LYD 6.314235
MAD 10.527091
MDL 19.787336
MGA 5177.732835
MKD 61.508068
MMK 2454.436143
MNT 4192.33892
MOP 9.450262
MRU 46.492642
MUR 53.144915
MVR 18.007558
MWK 2026.612611
MXN 21.771042
MYR 4.971339
MZN 74.772119
NAD 20.841074
NGN 1786.89858
NIO 43.011167
NOK 11.839321
NPR 160.310805
NZD 1.940152
OMR 0.449493
PAB 1.168788
PEN 4.144385
PGK 4.831884
PHP 66.037214
PKR 332.363469
PLN 4.253138
PYG 9058.033774
QAR 4.260834
RON 5.081579
RSD 117.098726
RUB 91.210062
RWF 1688.860502
SAR 4.384482
SBD 9.733981
SCR 16.480784
SDG 702.011685
SEK 11.176827
SGD 1.494854
SHP 0.91868
SLE 26.307644
SLL 24514.149043
SOS 667.907544
SRD 43.49699
STD 24196.728708
SVC 10.226522
SYP 15199.664267
SZL 20.847871
THB 37.929486
TJS 11.295954
TMT 4.103324
TND 3.419503
TOP 2.738009
TRY 46.93731
TTD 7.940523
TWD 34.1849
TZS 3029.973271
UAH 48.831018
UGX 4189.165697
USD 1.169038
UYU 47.259307
UZS 14766.534203
VES 133.584256
VND 30528.845862
VUV 139.872984
WST 3.045943
XAF 655.669903
XAG 0.030452
XAU 0.000348
XCD 3.159384
XDR 0.815443
XOF 655.669903
XPF 119.331742
YER 282.732293
ZAR 20.949587
ZMK 10522.750076
ZMW 27.056153
ZWL 376.429796
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Iran's nuclear programme: from its origins to today's dispute
Iran's nuclear programme: from its origins to today's dispute / Photo: Handout - UNITED NATIONS/AFP

Iran's nuclear programme: from its origins to today's dispute

A week ago, Israel launched an unprecedented attack against Iran, saying the country was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, a claim Tehran has always denied.

Text size:

Western powers have repeatedly expressed concerns about the rapid expansion of Iran's nuclear programme, questioning in particular the country's accelerated uranium enrichment.

The following is a recap of the main developments regarding Iran's nuclear programme, as European foreign ministers are holding nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart in Switzerland on Friday.

- 'Structured programme' -

Iran laid the foundation for its nuclear programme in the late 1950s with technical assistance from the United States, when Iran's ruling shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with the US.

In 1970, Iran ratified the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), committing it to declare its nuclear material to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

But revelations in the early 2000s about undeclared nuclear sites raised concerns. An 2011 IAEA report, collating "broadly credible" intelligence, said that at least until 2003 Iran "carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device".

- Historic accord left in tatters -

After suspending enrichment activities, Iran began talks with European and then international powers that would later culminate in a historic deal.

On July 14, 2015, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany reached an accord in Vienna.

The deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), placed significant restrictions on Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief after 12 years of crisis and 21 months of protracted negotiations.

But the hard-won deal began to unravel when the US under President Donald Trump walked away from it on May 8, 2018, and reimposed sanctions on Iran.

- 'Nuclear escalation' -

Following the US withdrawal, Iran retaliated by stepping up its nuclear activities as if "a red cape had been waved in front of a bull," said Clement Therme, associate researcher at the Rasanah International Institute for Iranian Studies.

According to Therme, Iran "embarked on a strategy of escalation" in a bid to up pressure and obtain help to circumvent sanctions. But Tehran's moves were unsuccessful and came at an "exorbitant economic cost".

Iran first began enriching uranium to five percent -- breaching the limit of 3.67 percent imposed by the deal -- before it raised the enrichment levels to 20 and then to 60 percent in 2021, which is a short step from the 90 percent required for use in a weapon.

Iran has also increased its stockpiles of enriched uranium, which was set at 202.8 kilogrammes under the deal. Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile is currently believed to be more than 45 times that limit.

And Tehran has since exceeded the number of centrifuges -- the machines used to enrich uranium -- it is allowed to have while beginning to produce more material faster by using advanced models at its plants.

Efforts to revive the deal have been fruitless so far, with European-led talks on hold since summer 2022.

After Trump's return to the White House, talks between Washington and Iran and mediated by Oman resumed in April.

While the US president has voiced confidence that Iran would eventually sign a nuclear deal, Tehran has said that Israeli strikes that targeted a slew of military and nuclear sites "dealt a blow" to diplomacy.

- 'No indication' -

Faced with Iran's rapidly expanding nuclear programme, the IAEA expressed "serious concern" in its latest quarterly report at the end of May.

According to the UN agency, Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state to enrich uranium to 60 percent. It theoretically has enough near-weapons-grade material, if further refined, for more than nine bombs.

However, the manufacturing and delivering of a nuclear bomb requires many other steps, including mastering both ballistics and the miniaturisation of the nuclear charge.

The IAEA has said it currently has "no indication" of the existence of a "systematic programme" in Iran to produce a nuclear weapon.

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified to a Senate committee in March that Iran was not actively building a nuclear bomb.

Iran has always denied having such ambitions, regularly referring to a long-standing fatwa, or religious edict, by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prohibiting atomic weapons.

(B.Hartmann--BBZ)