IAEA Releases New Report on Iran’s Nuclear Program

Today, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a critical report that concluded while some of the suspected secret nuclear work by Iran may have peaceful purposes, others are specific to building nuclear weapons.

The IAEA document reports that the agency has serious concerns about Iran’s nuclear activities and has obtained credible information that it may be developing nuclear weapons. While this detailed report found no evidence that Iran has made a strategic decision to actually build a bomb, it indicated that Iran’s nuclear program is more ambitious and has made more progress than was previously known.

The IAEA says that Iran is working on all aspects of research toward making a nuclear weapon, including fitting a warhead onto a missile and working on detonators.

Read the report here. 

BACKGROUND MATERIALS:

Media Coverage:
Associated Press: “U.N. Reports Iran Work ‘Specific’ to Nuclear Arms”
Agence France-Presse (AFP): “Kerry: Iran Not ‘Truthful’ About Nuclear Drive”
Reuters: “Iran Says IAEA Report ‘Politically’ Motivated”
BBC News: “Iran IAEA Report Deepens Concerns”
The Guardian: “Sanctions Likely as Fear Grows Over Israeli Action”
The Hill – Floor Action Blog: “Lieberman: Military Force Against Iran Must be Considered”
Politico: “Iran Nuke THreat: What’s Next?”
CNN: “IAEA Report to Detail Efforts by Iran to Develop a Nuclear Weapon”
New York Times: “U.N. Finds Signs of Work By Iran Toward Nuclear Device”
Washington Post: “U.N. Report Cites Secret Nuclear Research By Iran”
USA Today: “Iran Conducting Secret Tests Linked to Nuclear Weapons”
Foreign Policy Blog: “The IAEA’s Most Alarming Findings On Iran’s Nuclear Program”
Financial Times: “IAEA Chief Makes Mark With Iran Report”
Financial Times:“IAEA Report Says Iran Has Sought Warhead”
Wall Street Journal: “U.N. Says Iran is Working on Nuclear Arms”
Bloomberg News: “Iran Worked to ‘Miniaturize’ Weapon Design”
Reuters: “Iran Worked on Nuclear Bomb Design”
The Telegraph: “Ahmadinejad Dismisses U.N. Report on Iran’s Nuclear Programme”
Reuters: U.S. Says Needs Time to Study U.N. Iran Nuclear Report”
Reuters India: “Russia Rails Against Release of IAEA Iran Report”
Voice of America: “IAEA: ‘Credible’ Information Iran Worked on Weapon Design”
The Guardian: “U.N. Watchdog Reveals ‘Serious Concerns’ About Iranian Nuclear Weapons Research”
McClatchy Newspapers: “IAEA: Parts of Iran Nuclear Weapons Program ‘May Be Ongoing'”
CNN: “Report: Iran Developing Nuclear Bombs”
Christian Science Monitor: “Ahead of Iran Nuclear Report, Plenty of Apocalyptic Talk”
Global Security Newswire: “Iran Nuclear Assessment Not Seen As Boosting Odds Of U.S. Strike”

FAS Publications:

FAS in the News:

2011 November 7, Reuters: “Q+A: U.N. Report on Iran’s Nuclear Program”
2011 October 19, Reuters: “Russia Concerned About Iran Nuclear Report”
2011 October 17, Global Security Newswire: “IAEA Should Release Iran Nuclear Info, U.S. Says”
2011 October 17, Reuters: “Analysis- Iran-U.S. Tension Rising Ahead of Elections”
2011 October 14, Reuters: “‘Strong’ IAEA Report May Pile Pressure on Iran”
2011 October 14, AFP: “Iran: A Chance to Cut the Nuclear ‘Gordian Knot’?”