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Who threatens the Iranian people?

Fereidoun Gilani regarding Iran’s nuclear program and peace movement

Questionable

Gilani, Sociologist, President of the Iranian Authors’ in Exile Association, and Chairman of the Socialist Party of Iran, SPI, lives in Hamburg.

·         How new is the currently widely discussed nuclear program of Iran?

Basically, the government in Teheran is just rekindling the plans that originated in the 1950s in agreement with the USA. The first research reactor was delivered from the USA to Iran in 1967.  In 1974, the Federal Republic of Germany joined in the nuclear transfer to Iran.  The German Power Plant Association (Kraftwerk Union, KWU), and joint-venture of Siemens and AEG-Telefunken, wanted to build a power plant in Buschehr on the Persian Gulf.  The company Thyssen-Krupp was consigned for the construction.

In 1979, however, the so-called Islamic Revolution began and in 1980, the first Gulf War between Iran and Iraq started and the construction of the nuclear power plant Buschehr was completely destroyed through air strikes.  The KWU withdrew from the project in 1991- not without collecting 2.5. million dollars.  In 1995, Russia entered the project.  The construction was constantly delayed so that Buschehr has still not entered the net until today.

In 1975, U.S. Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, entered into agreements with the Shah-Regime regarding a comprehensive nuclear program.  Even at that time, it was planned to build 23 nuclear power plants by the year 2000.

·         The apprehension of the West is that Iran would build nuclear weapons if the technical requirements were available.  However, it is not out of the question that the development of nuclear weapons is now being worked on.  

The IAEA has to date found no evidence for this, which the director, Mohammed El Baradei emphasizes

again and again. But this is not to say that I believe President Mahmoud Ahmadinedschad would not use atomic energy for military purposes.  In my opinion, he would build the bomb if he could.

·         And deploy them too?

We have to expect this as well.  Nevertheless, this is not a reason to bomb Iran because this would affect primarily the civilian population.  We have experienced this in Yugoslavian, Afghanistan, and Iraq.  Our demand can only be, that nuclear weapons be abolished worldwide, also and especially in the West.

·         Apart from the regional environmental pollution, Iran is a earthquake prone region.  Wouldn’t it be complete madness to build 20 nuclear power plants there?

As far as I can tell, the argument of the peace movement is Iran’s right to civil use of nuclear energy under atomic energy agreements. It is unacceptable that Iran is denied rights that other countries make use of .  The war is being legitimized with unequal treatment.  Although this is surely true, it does not go far enough in my opinion given that we are talking about a gigantic atomic project.  I do not understand why the abolishment of civil and military use of atomic energy does not play a role in the discussion.      

·         Which steps are necessary from your perspective?

We need to criticize Bush’s war plans as well as Iran’s nuclear program and the Mullah-Government’s policy.  Ahmadinedschad is not a innocent victim of the international atomic mafia, but rather the head of a despotic regime.  The threat against Iranian civilians is from two sides: from the USA and from the Mullahs.  We from SPI, therefore say: “Imperialist and Islamists – Hands off Iran!”

Question and Foto: Birgit Gaertner