About the Book

Iran’s nuclear program remains one of the most consequential and contested issues in contemporary international politics. The book, Iran and the Bomb, offers the first comprehensive narrative that traces the strategic evolution of Iran’s nuclear history within the broader arc of its fraught relationship with the United States—from Washington’s enthusiastic support in the 1950s, to the sharp rupture after the 1979 revolution, to the program’s subsequent reconstruction and expansion.

This narrative guides readers through the pivotal turning points that shaped Iran’s nuclear trajectory: the Shah’s early negotiations to establish uranium enrichment on Iranian soil; the internal debates that animated decision-making in Tehran; the painstaking diplomacy that produced the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA); President Donald Trump’s dramatic withdrawal; and the ongoing efforts to restore—or replace—the deal. Through this historical and analytical journey, the book demonstrates that the underlying strategic logic of Iran’s nuclear program transcends regime type or ideology. As a result, the permanent dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure is not a realistic policy option for the United States. A more sustainable approach, it argues, is learning to manage a nuclear-threshold Iran while keeping its capabilities as far from weaponization as possible.

Grounded in a rich blend of American declassified documents and often overlooked Iranian sources—including political memoirs, diplomatic correspondence, oral histories of nuclear officials, and exclusive interviews with Iranian scientists and national-security figures—this book provides an unprecedented dual-perspective analysis. Its findings carry significant implications for scholars of nuclear proliferation, practitioners of foreign policy, and anyone seeking to understand the future of U.S.–Iran relations in light of its complex nuclear history.