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IRAN'S
NUCLEAR ASPIRATIONS
PART 4: Iranians state their
case
By Golnaz Esfandiari
(PART 1: Circumstantial
evidence)
(PART 2: Two-track weapons
program)
(PART 3: In search of the 'grand
bargain')
PRAGUE - Iranian
officials say the country's civilian nuclear
program is a matter of national pride and claim
widespread public support for continuing research
and development.
According to a poll
published in October by Iran's semi-official Mehr
news agency, about 80% of respondents said they
were opposed to halting nuclear activities. More
than 65% said Iran should continue its nuclear
pursuits under any circumstances. And 80% believe
the United States and other Western countries are
pressuring the UN's International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) to crack down on Iran.
But
some observers question the validity of such polls
and reject the idea that Iranians are united in
their desire for the country to have a nuclear
program.
An analyst who travels to Iran on
a regular basis - who wished to remain anonymous -
told RFE/RL that he believes people have mixed
feelings about the issue.
"The
overwhelming feedback I get from people is
ambivalence or mixed thoughts," he said. "They
feel that the money could be better spent or that
lots of people are not even paying attention. It
doesn't affect their daily lives."
Several
Iranian citizens interviewed by RFE/RL endorse the
view that Iran should continue its peaceful
nuclear activities. Hamid is a 54-year-old
businessman in Tehran: "It's [Iran's] legitimate
right, and other countries in the region have
these possibilities. This is our right. Why
shouldn't we use it?" He said he believes the
Islamic Republic is not secretly trying to produce
nuclear weapons.
Tehran says its nuclear
program is peaceful and is aimed at producing
energy for civilian use. The US and Israel accuse
Iran of pursuing a clandestine nuclear-weapons
program.
Ladan is a 45-year-old office
manager in the capital: "One thing is very strange
for me, and that is why there is so much pressure
[on Iran], because I think every country has the
right to have some plans of its own, apart from
[producing] nuclear weapons. If [nuclear
activities] are for peaceful purposes, then there
is nothing wrong. Israel now has about 200 to 300
nuclear bombs. Why isn't there any pressure on
Israel?"
But she added that it is possible
that UN inspections have succeeded in preventing
Iran from producing a nuclear bomb: "I don't think
Iran has [a nuclear bomb]. But I think that if the
inspectors hadn't come to Iran, it would possibly
have produced one." She said the Iranian regime
would consolidate its power by developing nuclear
weapons, and that's not something most people are
in favor of.
Twenty-two-year-old Ali said
students at his university do not talk much about
the nuclear issue. "There isn't much talk about it
among the youth, maybe only small talk regarding,
for example, whether the case has been referred to
the Security Council," Ali said. "Otherwise, they
don't go into too many details. At Azad
University, where I study, it's like that, I
think. For students at other universities, the
issue might be more important because the
atmosphere there is more political."
Ali
said he believes Iran is interested in developing
nuclear weapons, but said the country should have
a nuclear capability only for energy production.
"I think it is something that is necessary," he
said. "It means that Iran should by all means have
a nuclear capability - not military nuclear
capabilities - but for producing energy. I think
we are after nuclear weapons, but I'm not sure if
they've reached them or not."
The analyst
who spoke with RFE/RL said inconsistencies in
statements by the Iranian government over the past
year have convinced many people that the regime is
pursuing a clandestine weapons program. But he
said most Iranians do not see how a nuclear
program can improve their lives and solve
problems, such as unemployment and inflation.
Ladan, the Tehran office manager, said she
agrees that most ordinary Iranians are concerned
with day-to-day problems: "There was some concern
about the possible referral of Iran's case to the
Security Council [for possible sanctions] because,
in such a case, it would be the people who would
have to carry the burden on their shoulders.
People are facing so many problems regarding the
economy; pollution in Tehran, which makes people
nervous; terrible traffic jams; unemployment; and
other issues. Nuclear activities are really lost
among these [other issues]."
Iranian Nobel
Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi recently said
that while she, too, opposes nuclear weapons, the
West would do more good by focusing not on
Tehran's nuclear program but on promoting
democracy in the Islamic Republic. "In a country
or a society where people supervise decisions and
everything else, like a democratic country, the
existence of an atomic bomb cannot be dangerous,"
Ebadi said.
Copyright (c) 2004, RFE/RL
Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW,
Washington DC 20036 |
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