Should Iran Have Nuclear Power?

[Thunder]

In my expert opinion, there will be a compromise made over the Iranian nuclear enrichment program. Either enriched uranium will be given to Iran for their use in nuclear power plants, or they will be allowed minimal enrichment under strict supervision, or some combination of both.

But the question is...is there a problem with Iran having nuclear power? I'm sure some here would argue that Iran should be forbidden from possessing smoke alarms, due to their radioactive material.

[rtalman]

In my expert opinion, there will be a compromise made over the Iranian nuclear enrichment program. Either enriched uranium will be given to Iran for their use in nuclear power plants, or they will be allowed minimal enrichment under strict supervision, or some combination of both.

But the question is...is there a problem with Iran having nuclear power? I'm sure some here would argue that Iran should be forbidden from possessing smoke alarms, due to their radioactive material.Not being an expert, I would first have to know whether there is any way for the enriched uranium given to Iran to be converted to weapons grade material. If yes, then I would have strong fears, but if the international community diligently monitors the situation, maybe.

Of course, in a hypothetical future Iran, what is to stop the clerics from booting out the IAEA and making whatever they want with the enriched uranium?

[Matteo Martini]

I found the solution proposed long ago quite fair.
The Iranians should have nuclear power, but the enrichment process would take place in a third country, like Russia.

[shuize]

I find it amusing that the same people who think it's a good idea for Iran to have nuclear power are usually the same people who oppose building new nuclear power plants in the West.

[Darth Rotor]

Should Iran Have Nuclear Power?

In short, yes. The trick is to get them there without them violating the NPT. Not a simple task, but a worthy goal.

Thirty years of "more nukes, less kooks" from where this Sith stands.

DR

[Thunder]

Well, nuclear material could always be used to make a dirty bomb, but so could the radioactive material from an x-ray machine. As long as they dont have the capability to enrich uranium to weapons grade, I see no problem with them having nuclear power. Iran won't have oil forever.

[Segnosaur]

In my expert opinion, there will be a compromise made over the Iranian nuclear enrichment program. Either enriched uranium will be given to Iran for their use in nuclear power plants, or they will be allowed minimal enrichment under strict supervision, or some combination of both.


Even if Iran DOES want/need/deserve to have nuclear power, why exactly would they need enriched fuel? There are reactor designs (the Candu reactor design, in service for decades in over half a dozen countries in the world) which can run on natural (non-enriched) uranium. If Iran were really serious about using nuclear power for peaceful purposes only, they could just ask to buy one or two of those.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CANDU_reactor

[jsiv]

Yes, but only on Wednesdays and Mondays.

[Ziggurat]

Well, nuclear material could always be used to make a dirty bomb, but so could the radioactive material from an x-ray machine.

No. Typical X-ray machines do not use or create any radioactive material. They use high voltages to accelerate electrons to high energies. When these electrons impact a metal target, they create X-rays. This process can ionize atoms in the target (in other words, kick electrons off the atoms), but it does NOT alter the nuclear structure of the target atoms. No radioactivity is involved. A synchrotron X-ray source can create radioactivity from dumping the particle beam, but Iran doesn't have one, they're large, very expensive, and high tech (they're only used for scientific experimentation, not for medical diagnosis), and they're quite low efficiency for creating radioactivity so that's not exactly a threat.