Nuclear program of Iran

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Part of a series on the
Nuclear program of Iran
Timeline
Facilities
Arak Bushehr Darkhovin Fordow Natanz Isfahan Nuclear Technology/Research Center Karun atomic energy site
Organizations
Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Oghab 2 International Atomic Energy Agency P5+1
International agreements
Non-Proliferation Treaty Additional Protocol 2013 interim agreement, Geneva 2015 prelim agreement, Lausanne 2015 final agreement, Vienna Reactions Aftermath Negotiations United States withdrawal
Domestic laws
Nuclear Achievements Act Iranian act implementing the JCPOA Majlis commission US Congress review
Individuals
Iranian nuclear negotiators Rouhani Larijani Jalili Zarif Abbasi Aghazadeh ElBaradei Fakhrizadeh Salehi
Related
Assassination of nuclear scientists AMAD Project Iran and WMD Ali Khamenei's fatwa against nuclear weapons Manufactured Crisis Iran–United States relations after 1979 International sanctions against Iran UN resolutions WMD-free zone Mossad infiltration of Iranian nuclear archive Views on Iran's nuclear program
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Iran has research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing facilities that include three known uranium enrichment plants.^[1]

Commencing in the 1950s with support from the US under the Atoms for Peace program, Iran's nuclear program was geared toward peaceful scientific exploration. In 1970, Iran ratified the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), subjecting its nuclear activities to IAEA inspections. After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, cooperation ceased and Iran pursued its nuclear program clandestinely.

An investigation by the IAEA was launched as declarations by the National Council of Resistance of Iran in 2002 revealed undeclared Iranian nuclear activities.^[2][3] In 2006, Iran's noncompliance with its NPT obligations moved the United Nations Security Council to demand Iran suspend its programs. In 2007, the US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) stated Iran halted an alleged active nuclear weapons program in 2003.^[4] In November 2011, the IAEA reported credible evidence that Iran had been conducting experiments aimed at designing a nuclear bomb, and that research may have continued on a smaller scale after that time.^[5][6] On 1 May 2018 the IAEA reiterated its 2015 report, saying it had found no credible evidence of nuclear weapons activity after 2009.^[7][8][9]

Operational since September 2011, the Bushehr-1 reactor marked Iran's entry into nuclear power with Russia's assistance. Bushehr was a milestone for the Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation, Roseatom, helping make it the largest player in the global nuclear power market.^[10] Anticipated to reach full capacity by the end of 2012, Iran had also begun constructing a new 300 MW Darkhovin Nuclear Power Plant and expressed plans for additional medium-sized nuclear power plants and uranium mines in the future.

Despite the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) aimed at addressing Iran's nuclear concerns, the U.S. withdrawal in 2018 prompted renewed sanctions, impacting diplomatic relations. The IAEA certified Iran's compliance up until 2019, but subsequent breaches strained the agreement.^[11][12] In a 2020 IAEA report, Iran was said to have breached the JCPOA and faced criticism from signatories.^[13][14] In 2021, Iran faced scrutiny regarding its assertion the program was exclusively for peaceful purposes, especially with references to growth in satellites, missiles, and nuclear weapons.^[15] In 2022, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran head Mohammad Eslami announced a strategic plan for 10 GWe of nuclear electricity generation.^[16] In October 2023, an IAEA report estimated Iran had increased its uranium stockpile 22 times over the 2015 agreed JCPOA limit. ^[17] In the last months of the Biden Administration, new intelligence persuaded US officials that Iran was exploring a cruder design for a nuclear weapon that could enable Iran to manufacture a usable nuclear weapon in a matter of months.^[18]

In March 2025 Khamenei top advisor Ali Larijani said Iran would have no choice but to develop nuclear weapons if attacked by the United States or its allies.^[19]