The Washington Institute for Near East Policy in an article by Olli Heinonen who formerly served as deputy director-general for safeguards at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said there is no evidence suggesting Iran is moving towards building nuclear arms.
Western powers want Tehran to stop enriching uranium to 20 percent fissile purity used to fuel a research reactor in Tehran which produces radioisotopes for medical purposes like cancer treatment, claiming Iran may develop nuclear program for arms purposes, a process which needs 90 percent enriched uranium.
Tehran has dismissed West's demands for halting uranium enrichment as politically tainted and illogical, stressing that its enrichment program only seeks peaceful purposes i1ncluding power generation and medical needs.
The technology needed for nuclear bombs is totally different from the technology used for enriching uranium to the purity levels of 5 or 20 percent which is used for fueling nuclear or medical reactors.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has always said that it does not have any motivation for building nuclear arms, and it has never been after nuclear weapons.
However, despite the rules enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down West's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment.
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A US think tank said that there is no evidence Iran has decided to actually make nuclear weapons.
News ID 183205
