How Iran Got the Bomb

The critical unknown in the Middle East equation is the likelihood of Iran developing a nuclear weapon. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continues to insist that Iran is pursuing only the peaceful uses of nuclear energy; other countries in the region, and the United States, are not so sure. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspections of Iranian facilities have proved inconclusive, perhaps because Iran is concealing some research installations. But part of the problem lies in understanding what is needed to make a nuclear weapon and whether Iran has the necessary ingredients. In this acute analysis, written in clear language for the intelligent layperson, the physicist Jeremy Bernstein traces the circuitous route by which Iran secured the expertise it needed to develop a nuclear capability. He then assesses the current status of Iran’s nuclear program and whether it appears to be aimed at peaceful use or weapons production. The time of decision, he concludes, is fast approaching.


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Jeremy Bernstein's essay is released by Now and Then Reader, Digital Publishers of Serious Nonfiction Books and Essays.


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For nearly three decades Jeremy Bernstein wrote profiles of scientists for The New Yorker. Many were prizewinners, and his book Einstein was nominated for the National Book Award. Mr. Bernstein, a theoretical physicist, has also written Oppenheimer: Portrait of an Enigma; Hitler’s Uranium Club; Three Degrees Above Zero; Cranks, Quarks, and the Cosmos; The Merely Personal; and The Dawning of the Raj. He lives in New York City and Aspen, Colorado.