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Reaction to Iran’s second nuclear fuel plant

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Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Jacqueline Shire, an expert on arms control and proliferation, about revelations that Iran has a secret underground nuclear plant.

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JACQUELINE SHIRE: We really don’t know why right now, a week before this historic meeting in Geneva, the existence of this facility was disclosed.

MARCO WERMAN:  Jacqueline Shire spent 8 years in the State Department’s Bureau of Political Military Affairs.  She worked on issues related to proliferation and weapons of mass destruction.  Shire’s now a Senior Analyst at the Institute for Science and International Security.  She says the latest twist in Iran’s nuclear tale could be a game-changer.

SHIRE:  President Obama has committed himself very profoundly at the United Nations this week to a dual track process:  of engaging Iran and pressuring Iran if the engagement doesn’t work.  And here we have a situation where clearly Iran has not been forthcoming with the International Atomic Energy Agency about its nuclear facilities.  And this raises all kinds of doubts about the peaceful nature of Iran’s program and its protestation so far, that its nuclear facilities are all about producing fuel for a nuclear energy program.

WERMAN:  Well, as you say, Barack Obama has made a big push for engagement with Iran.  How big a challenge does this pose the US president now?

SHIRE:  Well, it’s clear from what we’ve learned so far, that President Obama was briefed on the existence of this facility early in his presidency.  The intelligence agency has been monitoring it. So while the diplomatic strategy has been put together and is unfolding, the US government and France and Britain have been monitoring this facility.

WERMAN:  So as you say, next Thursday, October 1^st, historic talks with Iran meeting the sextet of countries, which includes the United States.  That will be in Geneva.  How will all of this change the dynamics of diplomacy, and how would you expect Iran to respond?

SHIRE:  That’s a really good question, and it’s going to be interesting to watch how Iran responds to this.  They sent the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, a letter on Monday, September 21, very tersely informing them of the existence of this facility.  When Iran sits down in Geneva this week, if we have to go on what Ahmadinejad has said so far, I think their attitude might be a little smug.  “Yep, you caught us.  Here’s our nuclear facility.  There’s no nuclear material there.  We’re not planning on using it for bombs.  Our program is entirely peaceful in nature.”

WERMAN:  So this is kind of a two-part question.  Do you have any clue how the US got this intelligence, and could the manner in which the US obtained its information compromise this sextet position when they’re at the bargaining table with Iran next Thursday?

SHIRE:  Lots of people are going to be looking very closely into how this information was developed.  We’ve heard little hints of things over the last few months from various sources that there could be a second enrichment facility, but we didn’t have anything concrete and we don’t like to publish conjecture.  I think one thing that’s important to understand about this facility is that it’s clearly not designed to produce nuclear fuel for power plants.  It’s scaled in such a way that it is both technically and economically suitable only to producing weapons capability.

WERMAN:  And presumably, that’s got to be a big concern to many people.

SHIRE:  Absolutely.

WERMAN:  Meantime, in Iran, voters are still chafed by the election results there.  Now this news that Iran has a second fuel plant.  For many there, even those who voted against Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, it’s a matter of pride.  What does this do Ahmedinejad’s capital?

SHIRE:  That’s a great question.  The nuclear program, as you point out, is a great source of national pride.  In Iran, every taxi driver, every school teacher, regardless of their political views, I understand, is very happy with the country’s nuclear program.  But this is a situation where Iran has now, for the third time, been caught deceiving the international community.  And at some point, the burden of proof now really has to be on Iran to persuade its own citizens, who are paying a very high price for this program, and the international community that they’re ready to get serious and engage diplomatically and give up its nuclear weapons ambitions.

WERMAN:  Jacqueline Shire, at the Institute for Science and International Security, thank you so much.

SHIRE:  Thank you so much for having me.

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