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Nuclear Program Of Iran
The nuclear program of Iran is one of the most scrutinized nuclear programs in the world. The military capabilities of the program are possible through its mass enrichment activities in facilities such as Natanz and Arak. In June 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found Iran non-compliant with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years. Iran retaliated by launching a new enrichment site and installing advanced centrifuges. Iran's nuclear program began in the 1950s under the Pahlavi dynasty with US support. It expanded in the 1970s with plans for power reactors, paused after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and resumed secretly during the 1980s Iran–Iraq War. In the 1990s, Iran pursued a full nuclear fuel cycle and acquired centrifuge technology through illicit networks, including ties with Pakistan and North Korea. Undeclared enrichment sites at Natanz and Arak were exposed in 2002, and Fordow, an underground fuel enrichment site, was reveale ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weapons-grade Nuclear Material
Weapons-grade nuclear material is any fissionable nuclear material that is pure enough to make a nuclear weapon and has properties that make it particularly suitable for nuclear weapons use. Plutonium and uranium in grades normally used in nuclear weapons are the most common examples. (These nuclear materials have other categorizations based on their purity.) Only fissile isotopes of certain elements have the potential for use in nuclear weapons. For such use, the concentration of fissile isotopes uranium-235 and plutonium-239 in the element used must be sufficiently high. Uranium from natural sources is enriched by isotope separation, and plutonium is produced in a suitable nuclear reactor. Experiments have been conducted with uranium-233 (the fissile material at the heart of the thorium fuel cycle). Neptunium-237 and some isotopes of americium might be usable, but it is not clear that this has ever been implemented. The latter substances are part of the minor actinides ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
