Has Iran decided to manufacture atomic warheads

Amir Taheri takes a look at Iran's intentions:

In 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini, who had seized power in Tehran, cancelled the nuclear programme after describing it as "a satanic plot against Islam". When Khomeini died in 1989, Tehran's new "strongman", Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, instantly revived the nuclear programme.

Iranian scientists who had been imprisoned were released and set to work. Some of those who had fled to exile were tempted back with promises of new challenges. ...

It looked as if the Islamic Republic did not want nuclear energy; it wanted nuclear weapons. ...

"One thing is certain," says Akbar Etemad, the man who headed the Iranian nuclear programme for 10 years, "Iran has the scientific capability to make nuclear weapons".

The question, therefore, is not whether Iran can, but whether Iran has decided to, manufacture atomic warheads. There is mounting evidence that the decision has been taken.

What is labelled "The National Islamic Defence Doctrine" clearly states that Iran must be in a position to make use of "all types of weaponry". ...

What is surprising in all this is the almost stoic attitude of the Bush administration on what is likely to be the biggest threat to Middle East stability in the decade to come. more

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