News ID: 236
The United States was the first country to sign a nuclear deal with Iran during the Pahlavi regime. The first serious step in this field was taken in 1956. In 1967, a tripartite agreement was reached between Iran, the United States, and the International Atomic Energy Agency to delegate oversight, safety, and protection measures for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. In addition, in 1975, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the US Department of Energy to train Iranian personnel in nuclear science and engineering in 13 articles. In 1976, five related contracts were concluded with the American company "General Atomic". It was in this direction that in October 1978, four laser beam production units were shipped to Iran so that with physical changes in these units, Iran could start enriching uranium.
Publish Date : 13:20 - 2021 August 09

Irdc.ir The US government, which is struggling today to prevent the great Iranian nation from gaining access to peaceful nuclear energy, was working with the regime to develop nuclear energy during the Pahlavi era, when a puppet regime was in power in Iran. The United States was the first country to sign a nuclear deal with Iran. The first serious step in the use of nuclear science and technology in Iran was taken in 1956. On March 6, 1957, a Cooperation Agreement was signed between Iran and the United States on the civilian use of nuclear energy. This agreement, which consisted of an introduction and 11 articles, was approved by the National Assembly two years later on February1, 1959.


The agreement states in the introduction:'' Whereas the United States Government and the Government of Iran wish to work together in the development of such peaceful uses of nuclear power; And considering that the development plan of several types of research reactors has progressed well, And whereas the United States Government wishes to assist the Government of Iran in the implementation of such a program through the United States Atomic Energy Commission; The parties agree as follows...."


Article 3 agrees on the exchange of information in the following matters:

A: Design, construction, operation of research reactors and their use in the form of research and development research equipment and in radiotherapy treatments.

B: Health and safety issues related to the operation and use of research reactors.

C: Use of radioactive isotopes in physical and biological research, radiotherapy, agricultural and industrial treatments.

Article 4 stipulates that the United States shall supply uranium-235 as much as is necessary as a primary fuel and in exchange for the operation of a research reactor, and that the Iranian government, in consultation with the US Atomic Energy Commission or its authorized representatives, decide to construct it and lease it to the Government of Iran. Of course, the amount for each time will not exceed 6 kg of uranium-235 with 20% enrichment.

Article 6 emphasizes that the commission sells or leases materials needed for the construction and operation of research reactors in Iran and special nuclear materials to Iran if they are not available on the market.

Article 8 states that about the research reactors to be built following this agreement the Government of Iran shall agree to record and maintain information on the amount and level of operating power and amount of reactor fuel consumption and to submit annual reports to the Commission thereof. And if the Commission so wishes, the Government of Iran shall allow the representatives of the Commission to periodically inspect the status and use of the leased materials and to monitor the operation of the reactor in which these materials are used.


Following this Iran-US cooperation agreement, the Institute of Nuclear Sciences, which was overseen by the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), moved from Baghdad to Tehran, and the University of Tehran established a center called the University of Tehran Atomic Center for Nuclear Education and Research in the country. Shortly afterwards, in 1959, following the suggestion of the University of Tehran, the construction of a nuclear reactor was put on the government's agenda and approved. In this regard, the US President donated a nuclear reactor to Iran to promote his plan (Atom for Peace). The construction operation of the reactor of the University of Tehran began in 1961 and was ready for work in November 1967 and was practically put into operation. The reactor had a capacity of 5 megawatts and operated with 5,558.5 kg of highly enriched 93% uranium fuel supplied by the United States until 1979. The reactor was one of five donated by the US government to Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Israel and Indonesia.

In addition to the above activities, the US government also provided 112 grams of plutonium and equipment related to "Hot Cell".These cells are used to isolate plutonium.

A nuclear reactor, uranium with over 90% enrichment, and hot cell equipment have been provided to Iran by the United States, which could greatly increase Iran's capability toward a nuclear-armed country.

US cooperation proposal (recorded in classified documents and reviewed by The Washington Post) shows US tried to respond positively to Iran's request for plutonium reprocessing, the substance that makes up the atomic bomb. According to the newspaper, Gerald Ford, the then President of the United States, after the initial refusal, issued an order in 1976, which gave Tehran the opportunity to buy and operate a US-made reprocessing plant to extract plutonium from nuclear reactor fuel. The order included the preparation of a 'complete nuclear fuel cycle', that is, the commissioning of reactors that would self-reliantly supply their fuel from fissile material and reproduce the same material. This is exactly what the current US administration is trying to prevent Iran from achieving.

The documents of the US National Security Council, which were declassified in the second half of the 1990s, clearly showed that the United States pursued two goals in its negotiations with Iran during the 1990s. The first is the establishment of nuclear fuel reprocessing centers in Iran for the use of other countries in the region, and the second is to stop Islamabad from constructing independent nuclear facilities and the reprocessing of plutonium in Iranian facilities.

Washington made every effort to advance US economic interests through nuclear cooperation with Iran. This goal was pursued by imposing rules on the Iranian side to guarantee the exclusive rights of the United States, as well as imposing special agreements on that country. Akbar Etemad, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, acknowledged in an interview in 1997 that Iran had to accept US rules; Criteria designed to guarantee Washington's economic interests and its dominance over Iran's lucrative nuclear activities.

In 1975, Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs Houshang Ansari and the US Secretary of State signed a comprehensive economic agreement that included the sale of eight reactors worth $ 4.6 billion to Iran - after several prominent members of the US Congress visited Iran in the mid-1970s.

The high-ranking US delegation was carrying a letter from then-US President Gerald Ford to the Shah of Iran, calling for the agreement to be implemented swiftly. According to a 1976 Ford Government Strategic Document: "Generating electricity from nuclear energy, in addition to meeting the growing needs of the Iranian economy, will release the country's remaining oil reserves for export or conversion to petrochemical products."

Etemad narrates this cooperation from the perspective of the Iranian side:" Iran and the United States formed a joint economic cooperation commission of which I was also a member of that... According to that agreement, Iran undertook to purchase eight nuclear power plants; although this was not foreseen in our initial plan...This issue was never raised in the meetings of the commission for negotiation between the parties. This shows how much pressure the American side had on its Iranian counterpart. Could Iran buy eight nuclear power plants from the United States at once? The issue was to be mentioned in the official documents of cooperation between the two countries. There was a lot of political pressure. US senators later came to Tehran to meet with the Shah. The special envoys of the then President of the United States also met regularly with the Shah. They insisted on a bilateral agreement on the purchase of nuclear power plants.

In addition, following the cooperation, Iranian officials announced their readiness to invest $ 75.2 billion in an enrichment plant in the United States.

The US Department of Energy allowed Jeffrey Erkens, a nuclear physicist and uranium enrichment expert, to sell four laser beam production units to Iran, which were Transferred to Iran in October 1978. With some physical changes in these units, Iran could start enriching uranium

The cooperation agreement between Iran and the United States has been amended twice and has been approved by the National Assembly of Iran.

The following points are noteworthy in the first amendment:

- Iran's right to consume uranium-235 isotope in the US is recognized in the United States. (Article 1)

-Conversion of lease agreement into sale and transfer and transfer of special nuclear equipment and materials. (In Article 1)

-Increasing the validity of the cooperation agreement from 5 years to 10 years. (Article 5)


The following points are noteworthy in the second amendment:

-Emphasis on safety and security measures in the application of special nuclear equipment and materials, while redefining the uranium-235 isotope and its maximum amount as enriched nuclear fuel in the content of uranium delivered by the United States to Iran. (Article 1)

- US plan in power plants and equipment and devices related to the implementation of supply and special required materials and modulating materials and accounting view and review of the status of raw materials and special requirements. (Article 3)

-Delegating the role and task of implementing part of the security measures in the field of application of special nuclear equipment and materials to the International Atomic Energy Agency and replacing it with the United States. (Article 5)

- Extension of the validity of the cooperation agreement from 10 years to 20 years due to the process of building trust in bilateral relations. (Article 6)

In addition to the above agreements, a tripartite agreement was reached in 1967 between Iran, the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency to delegate oversight and safety and protection measures for the peaceful use of nuclear energy to the IAEA. This agreement, which consists of an introduction, 8 chapters and 33 sections, was approved by the Iranian Parliament on 1969-7-10

In addition to the above, a cooperation agreement was signed in 1975 between the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the US Department of Energy to train Iranian personnel in nuclear science and engineering in 13 articles.

The training program for the initial group of 20-29 people for a period of 3 years - which can also be extended - and according to Article 3 of this contract includes the following: Reactor design and engineering, reactor operation (reactor utilization), reactor safety, personal data processing, experimental neutron physics, environmental sciences, reactor materials, electronics and tool utilization, hot agent management, radioactive waste and their consumption, center decontamination Activity, sodium technology and general laboratory management.

In 1976, 5 related contracts were concluded with the American company General Atomic with the following content:

Delivery of tools and parts necessary for conversion of Tehran research reactor, including tools and accessories of reactor and nuclear fuel, Design services to convert Tehran research reactor and provide relevant information and reports and training of Atomic Energy Organization personnel, Perform monitoring and control of the reactor at start-up and perform the necessary tests to start the reactor, Delivery of nuclear reactor devices and installation and testing of reactor fuel devices.

Iran's efforts to become nuclear-laden were reflected globally, As far as the Financial Times writing in an article on November 13, 1975, entitled "The Shah Buys Nuclear Reactors; Iran's decision to pursue a major nuclear program has been welcomed by the public, and this is the first time that one of the oil-producing countries has pursued such a plan, considering dependence on oil as a source of energy dangerous."

In 1974, Iran, in a contract with the Stanford Research Institute of the United States, asked the institute to provide a comprehensive report on Iran's medium-term perspective in social, economic and industrial dimensions for the development of Iran. In a 20-volume report, the institute stated that Iran's goals for industrial and economic development depended on the production of 20,000 to 23,000 megawatts of electricity by 1995, which could have been made possible through the construction of nuclear power plants.

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