Iran’s Drive to Build a Nuclear Bomb Is Gaining Momentum
Published May 15, 2024
Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian diplomat who served on Iran’s nuclear negotiations team in the mid-2000s and is today a specialist at Princeton University‘s Program on Science and Global Security, emphasized the impact of sanctions on Tehran’s calculus on whether to maintain its commitments to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of which Iran was one of the original signatories in 1970.
“I am afraid Iran will not tolerate the trend of remaining a member of the NPT, avoiding mastering nuclear bombs, and being rewarded with more sanctions,” Mousavian told Newsweek.
He argued that “the problem is beyond the nuclear issue,” as Iran was party to not only to the NPT but pacts on other forms of restricted warfare, including those pertaining to chemical and biological weapons, and yet the country continued to be subject to mounting diplomatic, economic and military pressure.
“During past decades, the world powers expected Iran to comply with commitments and deprived Iran of its rights,” Mousavian said. “This will not last.
