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.

Acknowledgments xi

Abbreviations xiii

Foreword xv

INTRODUCTION 1

Chapter 1
EXPLORATION YEARS: IRAN AND THE BIRTH OF ATOMIC AMBITIONS 7
 The Shattered Illusions of Independence 7
 Barriers to Nuclear Development 12
 Conclusion 15

Chapter 2
YEARS OF EXPANSION: SPLENDOR AND THE BOMB: PAHLAVI’S ATOMIC HEDGE  17
 Iran Goes Abroad for the Atom  21
 The Shah’s Bad Luck?  24
 Beginning of the End  30
 The Shah and the Bomb  34
 Conclusion   38

Chapter 3
HIBERNATION AND REJUVENATION: IRAN’S NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT IN THE POST-REVOLUTION ERA 41
 The Downfall of the Shah’s Nuclear Program 42
 Dreams of Grandiosity That Withered Away 43
 The Wheat Silos 44
 Ordeals of a Total War 47
 “We Were All Alone” 47
 Reassembling the Shah’s Nuclear Architecture 50
 Abandoning Nuclear Dormancy 52
 In Search of Enrichment 53
 Scientific Setbacks and International Isolation 55
 Alleged Weaponization Efforts 57
 Advancing the Nuclear Program in the Peacetime 60
 Conclusion 61

Chapter 4
YEARS OF UPHEAVAL: IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM AT THE DAWN OF TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY 63
 Background 64
 The Sheikh of Diplomacy and Tehran’s Nuclear Restraint 69
 Conclusion 75

Chapter 5
DEFIANCE AND DIPLOMACY: THE LIMITS OF CONFRONTATION AND THE SEARCH FOR PEACE    77
 Enter Obama   84
 Obama Plays the Enrichment Card   90
 The Return of Sheikh of Diplomacy  92
 Conclusion  97

Chapter 6
NUCLEAR RESTRAINT: THE FLEETING YEARS OF HOPE 99
 Ghosts of Iran’s Past Behavior 101
 “We Are All Concerned” 102
 Donald Trump and the Election of a Disrupter 105
 The Making of a Strategic Blunder 106
 Killing the Deal by a Thousand Cuts 107
 Conclusion 110

Chapter 7
MAXIMUM RESISTANCE: NUCLEAR DEFIANCE IN AN AGE OF SANCTIONS 113
 The Gathering Storm 114
 Maximum Pressure Meets Maximum Resistance 118
 Hopes That Withered Away 122
 Conclusion 125

Chapter 8
THE UNRAVELING YEARS: NUCLEAR MISCALCULATION AND THE FAILURE OF DIPLOMACY 127
 Raisi’s Pivot: From Criticism to Conditional Engagement 127
 Misreading the West 129
 The Failed Revival: Vienna Talks and the Limits of Diplomacy 132
 The October 7 Shock and the Collapse of Deterrence 135
 Conclusion 139

EPILOGUE: BETWEEN THE BOMB AND THE DEAL 141
 A Rising Lion and the True Promise 144

CONCLUSION 147
 Looking Ahead: Iran’s Nuclear Future 151

Notes 154

Bibliography 213

Index 258