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AMAD Project (or AMAD Plan, Persian: پروژه آماد) is an alleged Iranian scientific project with the aim of developing nuclear weapons. It began in 1989, ended in 2003 according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but elements are alleged by Israel to have continued nonetheless.[1][2][3] Iran has denied the existence of any program aimed at the development of a nuclear explosive device, and in particular denied the existence of the AMAD Plan when reporting additional details to the IAEA in 2015.[4]
IAEA investigation
Starting in 2005, the IAEA gathered information from its member states indicating that in the late 1980s Iran had launched a plan aimed at the development of a nuclear explosive device. This information indicated that these activities started within Departments of the Physics Research Centre (PHRC), and by the early 2000s came to be focused on projects of the AMAD Plan under the leadership of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.[4] According to the IAEA, the programme gathered several projects aiming at designing and integrating nuclear payloads (projects 110 and 111), manufacturing explosive components (project 3), and enriching uranium (project 4).[5]
The same information indicated that "activities under the AMAD Plan were brought to a halt in late 2003 and that the work was fully recorded, equipment and work places were either cleaned or disposed of so that there would be little to identify the sensitive nature of the work that had been undertaken."[4][5]
In August 2015, under the roadmap, Iran provided the IAEA with additional details and denied the existence of any program aimed at the development of a nuclear explosive device, and in particular denied the existence of the AMAD Plan.[4]
In a 2015 report named Final Assessment on Past and Present Outstanding Issues regarding Iran’s Nuclear Programme, the IAEA assessed that:
- "a range of activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device were conducted in Iran prior to the end of 2003 as a coordinated effort, and some activities took place after 2003 [but] these activities did not advance beyond feasibility and scientific studies, and the acquisition of certain relevant technical competences and capabilities. The Agency has no credible indications of activities in Iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009".[4]
2018 Israeli operation
On 31 January 2018, Israeli Mossad agents infiltrated a secret warehouse in southern Tehran, and pilfered 100,000 documents, including paper records and computer files, documenting the nuclear weapons work of the AMAD Project between 1999 and 2003.[6][7]
On 30 April, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented the operation's trove to the public. According to Netanyahu, the documents proved Iran had lied to the international community about its plans, with the goal of the AMAD Project to design, produce and test five warheads, each with ten kiloton yield for integration on a missile.[8][9][10] Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif tweeted to say the evidence was a "rehash of old allegations" which had already been dealt with by the IAEA.[8]
According to David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security, the archive indicated that Iran's weapon program was more advanced than believed previously in the West and that should Iran pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action it would be able to produce weapons swiftly, possibly within a few months.[11] According to journalist Yonah Jeremy Bob and nuclear expert Jeffrey Lewis, much of the key contents were already reported in past IAEA reports. However, the trove provided more clarity about Iran's specific goals for its arsenal.[12]
See also
References
- ^ "Netanyahu claims Israel has proof Iran still trying to develop a nuclear weapon". The Independent. 2018-04-30. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
- ^ Routledge Handbook of Nuclear Proliferation and Policy, Joseph F. Pilat, Nathan E. Busch, pp. 48–49, 2015
- ^ Rezaei, Farhad (2017). Iran's Nuclear Program: A Study in Proliferation and Rollback. Springer. ISBN 978-3319441207.
- ^ a b c d e Board of Directors, Final Assessment on Past and Present Outstanding Issues regarding Iran’s Nuclear Programme, IAEA, December 2015.
- ^ a b Cordesman, Anthony, The Gulf Military Balance: The Missile and Nuclear Dimensions, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2014, p. 94. ISBN 978-1442227934
- ^ Bregman, Ronen (2018-07-15). "How Israel, in Dark of Night, Torched Its Way to Iran's Nuclear Secrets". New York Times. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Warrick, Joby (2018-07-15). "Papers stolen in a daring Israeli raid on Tehran archive reveal the extent of Iran's past weapons research". Washington Post. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ a b "Israel says Iran hid nuclear arms programme". BBC News. 2018-04-30. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
- ^ DiChristopher, Tom (2018-04-30). "Netanyahu: Iran had secret 'Project Amad' to design, produce and test warheads". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
- ^ John Kerry: 'Nuclear deal works,' White House: 'Iran lied', Ynetnews, 5 May 2018.
- ^ Iran Was Closer to a Nuclear Bomb Than Intelligence Agencies Thought, Michael Hirsh, Foreign Policy, 13 November 2018
- ^ Bob, Yonah Jeremy (2018-05-03). "What did the Mossad actually get from Iran?". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
