Iranian Activists Publish an Open Letter Against Nuclear Ambitions

The nuclear industry continues to stir controversy in Iran, where many residents believe the country is on the brink of creating a nuclear bomb.

Iranian activists published an open letter to their government this week, calling on it to suspend uranium enrichment.

The text of the letter warned that the country’s nuclear ambitions would “set the stage for war” and that the people of Iran would “have to pay the price.”

Iranian journalist Nazila Fathi says the letter reflects the growing anxiety in Iran about the possibility of a military attack.

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Marco Werman: Officials in Iran continue to dodge questions about their nuclear program, but the United Nations’ Nuclear Agency said recently that there is evidence that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon. This week Iranian dissidents published an open letter to the government in Tehran. The letter calls on Iran to suspend Uranium enrichment. It also warns that the country’s nuclear ambitions would set the stage for war. Iranian journalist, Nazila Fathi is based in the U.S. She says the letter reflects a growing anxiety among Iranians everywhere about the possibility of a military attack against Iran.

Nazila Fathi: The opposition groups outside the country, they are very divided, but they are all unanimous over one thing: that any kind of external threat would help radicals to solidify their power.

Werman: So this letter came primarily from dissidents outside the country. Is that right?

Fathi: Yes, mostly.

Werman: Now, inside the country, I mean obviously no one wants to see a nuclear conflict, how widespread do you that opinions in this letter are in Iran among Iranian citizens?

Fathi: Well I think it’s very widespread and this is not the first time that people have expressed their concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. When I was in Iran in 2007, there were debates on radio, on the public radio where political scientists talked about this openly. They talked about whether the costs were worth the risks that the country was facing, whether any kind of external threat was worth the nuclear energy.

Werman: Nazila, I want to ask you about a couple of other things that are sparking up anxiety in Iran. There’s a huge funeral this week for one of the founders of Iran’s missile program and more than a dozen revolutionary guard members who died in an explosion last weekend. Tell us about this blast at the military base and why it’s led to so much speculation in Tehran.

Fathi: First of all, the whole city, and Tehran is a very large city, was rocked with this thunderous sound of the explosion. A lot of people who lived in Tehran, they thought the city has come under attack, maybe they thought this was the attack by Israel or maybe it was a nuclear test and in the government, the only news that it gave out was there had been an explosion at an ammunition depot, which didn’t make much sense because the sound of it was just thunderous and then the regime, they closed of the streets. They didn’t let reporters get to the explosion site. Even people who were injured, they were not taken to regular hospitals. It seemed that there were that they didn’t want these people to speak to people, to talk about what happened there, and then of course the godfather of the country’s missile program had been there and it raised questions. What was he doing there if they were just moving ammunition? And now there are reports saying that perhaps there was a kind of coverts plan behind it. Maybe the Israelis were behind a sabotage to warn Iranians.

Werman: So it’s that blast, it’s the mysterious reaction to it that’s prompting all this speculation and this, after a week when a new U.N. report offering additional evidence that Iran may be on the brink of getting nuclear weapons come out. That report can’t have helped the anxiety growing on the ground after this blast over the weekend.

Fathi: Not at all. I mean it’s just one accident after another accident. Just this past summer, another young man who was working for the nuclear program was assassinated. Then you have this explosion. The day after that, the son of head of Iran’s revolutionary guards during the eight years of war was killed mysteriously in a hotel room in Dubai. I mean just too many accidents that they sense.

Werman: For the people of Tehran, what does it feel like is going on right now? What are they telling you?

Fathi: In some ways people are worried and in some ways, if the government does get away with the capability, they will be proud about it, but at this point they are really concerned about the risks and the possibility of a confrontation. I mean let’s not forget that Iranian people withdrew from the streets two years ago after the uprising because they didn’t want to get caught in another bloodbath and the memories of the revolution in 1979 and then eight years of war are very much alive in the minds of the people and the worst thing that they would imagine now is another military confrontation with Israel.

Werman: Former New York Times reporter, Nazila Fathi. Thanks so much for your time.

Fathi: Oh, thank you very much.

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