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The Iranian Nuclear Threat

Background

Iran’s secret nuclear program was first exposed and confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2002. With the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005, Tehran has pressed forward with uranium enrichment and other weapons programs as well as sponsored terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. In defiance of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, Iran has refused any serious negotiations with the United States and other world powers. In June 2010, President Obama enacted one of the most comprehensive and toughest sanctions bills to date. And in early 2011, there were reports that Iran’s nuclear program had experienced several “setbacks” due to the sanctions, covert cyber viruses, and disappearances of nuclear scientists. Yet despite these setbacks, the IAEA has found that the Islamic Regime has resumed production of low enriched uranium, tested new missile systems, and even produced back-up nuclear facilities.

key points

The effort to stop Iran’s uranium enrichment and possible achievement of a nuclear bomb is not complete. As the largest state sponsor of international terrorism and a blatant violator of human rights, Iran is not just a threat to Israel, but to the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the world.

• Iran is a chief sponsor of global terrorism (even without nuclear weapons). Iran has been designated the world’s top “state sponsor of terror” by the U.S. Department of State since 2000.
• Iranian terrorist proxies have killed more Americans than any other terrorist network before 9/11. Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Mahdi Army in Iraq all receive the majority of funding, training, and weapons from Iran.
• Iran is a brutal violator of human rights. The Islamic Regime, controlled by the ayatollahs, is a theocratic dictatorship that regularly suppresses its own people. Political dissidents, homosexuals, and “immodest” women are regularly arrested and executed. A nuclear-armed Iran would only be emboldened.
• A nuclear Iran would destabilize the Middle East (even more than it is). Many Arab countries are deeply worried about Iran achieving a nuclear weapon, and have expressed interest in developing their own nuclear technology. This includes Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey.
• Pressure on Iran must be stepped up. Now is the time to make sure Iran gives up its nuclear program. While current sanctions may have hurt Iran’s economy, Iran has still managed to blunt the impact and has not given up its quest for nuclear weapons. The world community must enact and enforce tougher sanctions and comprehensive pressure. Companies and countries that still enable Iran’s illicit activity must be held accountable and penalized.

more information

• ISSUE BRIEF: The Iranian Nuclear Threat (PDF), 8/3/2011
• Take Initiative on Iran portal