The Development of Iran's Nuclear Programme

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on 8 June the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a resolution formally censuring Iran for failing to cooperate with the United Nations (UN) nuclear watchdog.

Below is a timeline of the key events relating to Iran's nuclear programme, from the country's first known programme to develop "peaceful energy" to the present day.

THE EARLY YEARS

1957 – Under the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Tehran signs a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with its ally, the United States.

1967 – Iran acquires its own research reactor under the U.S. "Atoms for Peace" programme.

1974 – Amid the oil crisis, the Shah announces plans to build 23 nuclear reactors with control over the entire nuclear fuel cycle, opening the door to the possible manufacture of atomic weapons. This alarms U.S. officials, and the United States imposes restrictions on Iran. Iran also lends USD 1 billion for the construction of the Eurodif uranium enrichment plant in France in order to be able to buy 10% of its output.

1975 – Germany's Kraftwerk Union begins building the four-reactor Bushehr nuclear power plant as part of a USD 4.8 billion deal. The Shah says in an interview: "Frankly, I don't really think of nuclear weapons. But if 20 or 30 ridiculous little countries are going to develop nuclear weapons, then I may have to revise my policies."

1979 – The Shah, seriously ill, flees Iran amid mounting protests. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran and the Islamic Revolution sweeps away the old regime. Students seize the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, starting a hostage crisis that lasts 444 days. Iran's nuclear programme falls into neglect under international pressure.

1980s – During its bloody war with Iran, Iraq repeatedly strikes the Bushehr nuclear power plant, bringing construction to a halt.

1987 – Iran strikes a deal with nuclear scientists and the Pakistani black-market dealer A.Q. Khan for centrifuge designs, and he ultimately becomes a strategic partner of the programme.

DIPLOMATIC DISAGREEMENTS

August 2002 – Western intelligence services and an Iranian opposition group reveal Iran's secret Natanz nuclear enrichment facility.

June 2003 – The United Kingdom, France and Germany enter into nuclear negotiations with Iran without Washington.

October 2003 – Iran suspends uranium enrichment.

February 2006 – Iran announces it will resume uranium enrichment following the election of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The United Kingdom, France and Germany immediately step up their negotiations.

June 2006 – The United States, Russia and China join the United Kingdom, France and Germany to form the P5+1 group of world powers in an effort to persuade Iran to limit its nuclear programme.

December 2006 – The United Nations Security Council imposes its first sanctions on Iran, banning the sale of sensitive nuclear technology. Five more Security Council resolutions follow up to 2010, tightening sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

November 2007 – The number of uranium enrichment centrifuges installed by Iran reaches about 3,000, and its stockpile of low-enriched uranium keeps growing, heightening experts' concerns about nuclear proliferation.

July 2008 – Under President George W. Bush, the United States takes part in nuclear negotiations for the first time.

June 2009 – Iran's tense presidential election sees hard-liner Ahmadinejad re-elected amid a violent government crackdown.

September 2009 – Western leaders reveal that Iran has secretly built the Fordo enrichment facility, built under a mountain to protect it from possible air strikes.

October 2009 – Under President Barack Obama, the United States and Iran open a secret channel of communication between the two countries.

February 2010 – Iran begins enriching uranium to nearly 20%, a significant technical step towards the weapons-grade level of 90%.

May 2010 – Brazil and Turkey announce their own nuclear deal with Iran, but it quickly collapses.

January 2011 – Talks between Iran and the six world powers break down after 15 months of stalemate.

May 2011 – With Russian assistance, Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant begins operating.

November 2011 – The IAEA states that Iran had a "fairly basic" military nuclear weapons programme that ended in 2003. Iran denies this, although Western governments, including the United States, say the same.

January 2012 – The IAEA says Iran is enriching uranium to 20% at Fordo. The European Union freezes the assets of the Central Bank of Iran and halts imports of Iranian oil.

April 2012 – Public talks resume between Iran and the six world powers but fail to reach common ground.

July 2012 – U.S. and Iranian officials hold secret bilateral talks in Oman.

August 2013 – Hassan Rouhani, a relatively moderate cleric and former nuclear negotiator, becomes President of Iran. He declares that his country is ready for serious nuclear negotiations.

September 2013 – Rouhani and Obama speak by telephone, the highest-level exchange between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif begin diplomatic exchanges.

November 2013 – Iran and the six world powers announce an interim agreement limiting Tehran's nuclear programme and releasing some Iranian assets. The agreement paves the way for extended negotiations on a comprehensive nuclear agreement.

April 2015 – After months of negotiations, a framework nuclear agreement is announced, setting out long-term limits on Iran's nuclear programme and lifting many international sanctions.

14 July 2015 – The world powers and Iran announce a comprehensive, long-term nuclear agreement.

THE COLLAPSE OF THE AGREEMENTS

January – February 2017 – Tensions escalate after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, whose administration bans Iranians and citizens of Muslim-majority countries. Iran immediately conducts a ballistic missile test, prompting the United States to threaten retaliation.

May 2018 – President Trump unilaterally withdraws the United States from the JCPOA nuclear agreement, calling it "the worst deal ever". He says he will secure better terms in new negotiations to curb Iran's missile development and its support for armed forces in the region. However, those talks never take place.

August 2018 – The Trump administration reimposes the first sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the nuclear agreement, targeting a range of sectors from carpets and pistachios to gold and commercial aircraft.

November 2018 – The United States reimposes its toughest sanctions on Iran, targeting Iran's vital banking and oil sectors.

April 2019 – President Trump designates Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organisation, the first time the United States has blacklisted another country's military.

5 May 2019 – Citing unspecified threats from Iran, the White House sends the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf in a show of force.

8 May 2019 – Iran announces that it will begin to pull back from the agreement, setting a 60-day deadline for Europe to compensate for the U.S.-led sanctions before it starts enriching uranium to higher levels.

13 May 2019 – Four oil tankers, including two Saudi tankers, are mysteriously attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

15 May 2019 – A drone attack targets a major oil pipeline running across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claim responsibility. Riyadh blames Tehran, which denies involvement.

13 June 2019 – Explosions disable two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. The United States blames Iran for the attacks; the accusations continue to mount, but Iran denies them.

17 June 2019 – President Trump sends a further 1,000 troops to the Middle East, in addition to the 1,500 troops deployed the previous month, to monitor Iranian activities and protect U.S. forces.

20 June 2019 – Iran's Revolutionary Guard shoots down a U.S. surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz with a surface-to-air missile. President Trump says he was ready to approve retaliatory military strikes on Iran but called them off at the last minute.

25 June 2019 – Trump imposes new sanctions on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, and his associates.

1 July 2019 – Iran announces that it has exceeded the nuclear agreement's limit on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium.

19 July 2019 – Iran's Revolutionary Guard seizes a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. British forces had earlier seized an Iranian tanker near Gibraltar on suspicion of violating sanctions.

3 September 2019 – The United States sanctions Iran's civilian space agency, alleging that its programme serves as a cover for testing ballistic missile technology.

7 September 2019 – Iran begins using advanced centrifuges prohibited under the 2015 agreement.

14 September 2019 – Drone attacks target two key oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, halving oil supplies from the world's largest exporter. Iran-backed Houthi rebels claim responsibility. U.S. and Saudi officials blame Iran, which denies involvement.

6 November 2019 – Iran injects uranium gas into centrifuges at its underground Fordo facility.

15 November 2019 – Government-imposed fuel price rises amid a worsening economic crisis spark a wave of protests across Iran. Security forces launch a brutal crackdown, in which more than 300 people are reported to have been killed.

December 2019 – A rocket attack on an Iraqi military base kills a U.S. civilian contractor and wounds several soldiers. Retaliatory U.S. air strikes lead Iran-backed supporters to storm the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad.

3 January 2020 – A U.S. drone strike in Baghdad kills General Qassem Soleimani, Iran's top general and the architect of Tehran's proxy wars in the Middle East.

8 January 2020 – In retaliation for the killing of Soleimani, Iran fires a barrage of missiles at military bases in Iraq housing thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops. More than 100 U.S. service members are injured. As Iran prepares for a counter-attack, the Revolutionary Guard shoots down a Ukrainian passenger aircraft shortly after take-off from Tehran's international airport, reportedly mistaking it for a U.S. cruise missile. All 176 people on board are killed. On 14 January 2020, after days of denial, Iran acknowledges responsibility for shooting down the Ukrainian jet, sparking anti-government street protests.

22 April 2020 – Iran's Revolutionary Guard launches its first satellite into space, revealing what experts describe as a secret military space programme.

23 April 2020 – After tense encounters in the Strait of Hormuz, including the seizure of a Hong Kong-flagged oil tanker, President Trump threatens to "shoot down and destroy" any Iranian gunboats harassing U.S. Navy ships.

July 2020 – A mysterious explosion completely destroys the centrifuge production plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility. Iran blames Israel for the attack.

October 2020 – The decade-long UN arms embargo on Iran, which barred the country from purchasing foreign weapons, expires as scheduled under the nuclear agreement, despite U.S. opposition.

November 2020 – Joe Biden defeats Trump in the U.S. presidential election. During this period, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, an Iranian scientist described by the West as the head of Tehran's military nuclear programme, is killed in an ambush on the outskirts of Tehran. Iran blames Israel. In December 2020, in retaliation for Fakhrizadeh's killing, Iran's parliament passes a bill suspending UN inspections of the country's nuclear facilities and requiring the government to step up uranium enrichment.

4 January 2021 – Iran begins enriching uranium up to 20% and seizes a South Korean-flagged oil tanker near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

23 February 2021 – The IAEA announces that it has lost access to surveillance camera footage as well as data from online uranium enrichment monitors amid its standoff with Iran. Tehran pledges to keep the footage and hand it over once sanctions are eased.

6 April 2021 – Iran and the United States begin direct talks in Vienna on how to restore the nuclear agreement.

9 April 2021 – Iran releases the South Korean-flagged oil tanker it had seized earlier.

11 April 2021 – A second attack within a year targets Iran's Natanz nuclear site, with Israel suspected.

16 April 2021 – Iran begins enriching uranium up to 60%, its highest purity ever and a significant technical step towards weapons-grade levels (around 90%).

2 June 2021 – The largest warship of the Iranian navy mysteriously catches fire and sinks in the Gulf of Oman, a major setback amid rising maritime tensions with the West.

19 June 2021 – Ebrahim Raisi, a hard-liner aligned with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wins the presidential election.

23 June 2021 – An attack targets a centrifuge workshop in the Iranian city of Karaj, also damaging IAEA cameras at the site.

29 July 2021 – A drone attack kills two people on board an oil tanker linked to an Israeli billionaire off the coast of Oman. The U.S. military determines that the drone was Iranian. Tehran denies involvement.

26 October 2021 – A cyberattack paralyses petrol stations across Iran.

1 December 2021 – The IAEA says Iran has begun operating a cascade of 166 advanced IR-6 centrifuges at its underground Fordo facility.

15 December 2021 – The IAEA and Iran reach an agreement to reinstall the damaged cameras at Karaj, although inspectors still complain about restrictions on their access.

5 March 2022 – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov ties the nuclear agreements with Iran to the U.S. sanctions targeting Moscow over the war in Ukraine, complicating the negotiations.

8 March 2022 – Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it has launched a new reconnaissance satellite, just as U.S. intelligence agencies warn that Tehran could seek to enrich to 90% if the talks fail.

12 March 2022 – The nuclear talks in Vienna end without an agreement after Russia demands guarantees that its relations with Tehran would be exempt from Western sanctions imposed following the events in Ukraine.

13 March 2022 – Iran's Revolutionary Guard claims responsibility for a ballistic missile attack near the U.S. Consulate in northern Iraq.

11 May 2022 – In a last-ditch diplomatic effort, the European Union sends its nuclear negotiations envoy to Tehran, as earlier talks have stalled over Iran's demand that Washington lift the terrorist designation of the Revolutionary Guard. Subsequently, Tehran detains two French nationals on security charges, a move that is immediately and widely criticised.

22 May 2022 – A senior member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard is shot dead in a car in central Tehran by unidentified gunmen, a brazen attack echoing earlier targeted killings attributed to Israel.

27 May 2022 – Iran seizes two Greek oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for Greece's role in the U.S. seizure of crude oil from an Iranian-flagged tanker in the Mediterranean Sea for violating sanctions.

8 June 2022 – The IAEA Board of Governors censures Iran for failing to provide answers about traces of man-made uranium found at three undeclared sites. Iran subsequently disconnects two IAEA surveillance cameras.

9 June 2022 – Iran begins disconnecting 27 IAEA surveillance cameras at its nuclear sites, further angering the inspectors as it prepares to install more cascades of IR-6 centrifuges at Natanz.

Thanh Tung (Centre 81)