Mohammad Marandi: Israel and the West Have Lied About Iran's Nuclear Program for Decades

Iran's Nuclear Program and Western Narratives

• 💡 Professor Mohammad Marandi asserts that Iran's 60% enriched uranium is a strategic bargaining tool to negotiate sanctions relief.
• 🎯 He criticizes Western media and figures like Benjamin Netanyahu for consistently claiming Iran is on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, a narrative he states has never been true.

History and Objectives of Iran's Nuclear Program

• 🔑 Before the revolution, Western companies were involved in Iran's nuclear program, which aimed to build 20 nuclear reactors.
• ⚠️ Post-revolution, sanctions and Western actions prevented Iran from continuing its program independently, forcing it to develop capabilities secretly.
• ⚛️ Iran's pursuit of a nuclear fuel cycle was driven by the need for energy independence and to prevent Western powers from cutting off fuel supplies to its reactors and desalination plants.

Western Pressure and Iranian Response

• 🔬 Iran's development of its peaceful nuclear program, including uranium enrichment, was necessary due to illegal prevention by the US and Europe, despite IAEA regulations.
• 🏥 The US refusal to allow Iran new fuel for its medical reactor put cancer patients at risk, prompting Iran to enrich uranium to 20%.
• 🕯️ Marandi alleges that the US and Israel assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists, including a colleague, to hinder the program.

The Purpose of 60% Enriched Uranium

• 🤝 The production of 60% enriched uranium is explicitly stated as a leverage tactic against US and European sanctions that harm ordinary Iranians.
• 🚫 Marandi argues that Western powers, like the US with Cuba, have a tendency to exert pressure and sanctions on countries they dislike, regardless of the threat posed.
• 🗣️ Western elites, he claims, repeat lies about Iran's nuclear program so often that they begin to believe their own propaganda, likening it to a folk tale where a rumor is spread so widely it's eventually believed.