Global Insights: Iran’s Slow but Steady Nuclear March

Global Insights: Iran’s Slow but Steady Nuclear March

According to media reports, the latest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) assessment of Iran's nuclear program due out this week will find that Iran has made considerable progress in developing a nuclear weapons capacity despite international sanctions, cyber attacks and other impediments. As a result, Iran will soon be in the position to develop nuclear weapons should its leaders decide to pursue them.

The IAEA assessment will reportedly provide three new revelations about Iran's program. First, it will confirm that Iran has resumed its research and development of a nuclear warhead. That contrasts with the 2007 U.S. National Intelligence Estimate, which concluded that Iran had ceased such work in 2003, while continuing to make progress on the other two elements of any nuclear program: acquiring more weapons-usable material, such as enriched uranium, and improving the capabilities of Iran's ballistic missile arsenal.

Second, the latest IAEA report will confirm previous suspicions that Iran has received crucial military assistance from foreign nationals and foreign governments, including a Russian nuclear scientist and North Korea, allowing Iranian technicians to develop a workable design for an effective nuclear warhead.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review