Iranian Nuclear Crisis.

Irans nuclear program is one of the most polarizing issues in one of the worlds most volatile regions. While American and European officials believe Tehran is planning to build nuclear weapons, Irans leadership says that its goal in developing a nuclear program is to generate electricity without dipping into the oil supply it prefers to sell abroad, and to provide fuel for medical reactors. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has long expressed concern about Iran's nuclear program, but its latest report (November 2011) lays out the case in much greater detail than before. Drawing on evidence provided by more than 10 member states as well as its own information, the IAEA said Iran had carried out activities "relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device". The report, the severest judgment that United Nations weapons inspectors had ever issued in their decadelong struggle to penetrate the secrecy surrounding the Iranian program, rekindled a debate among the Western allies and Israel about whether increased diplomatic pressure, sanctions, sabotage or military action could stop Irans program. In an effort to hinder Irans nuclear program, the United States and the European Union took significant steps to cut Iran off from the international financial system, announcing coordinated sanctions aimed at its central bank and commercial banks. In addition, the United States also imposed sanctions on companies involved in Irans nuclear industry, as well as on its petrochemical and oil industries, adding to existing measures that seek to weaken the Iranian government by depriving it of its ability to refine gasoline or invest in its petroleum industry. Iran has defended its nuclear program as peaceful and has defiantly pursued uranium enrichment through years of international pressure and sanctions. Israels increasingly urgent warnings on the need to halt Irans nuclear progress, before it gets much closer to being able to build a bomb, have prompted concerns that Israel might unilaterally mount a military strike and have added to the relentless enmity between the two. In January 2012, 27 nations of the European Union increased pressure on Iran over its nuclear program by agreeing to ban oil imports. Under the deal, E.U. members agreed not to sign new oil contracts with Iran and to end existing ones by July 1, according to a statement from European foreign ministers. The assets of the Iranian central bank within the E.U. were frozen with limited exemptions to permit the continuation of legitimate trade. On Jan. 26, the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, publicly declared his readiness for nuclear talks. According to the Associated Press, Mr. Ahmadinejad told students in the southern city of Kerman that he is ready for negotiations, but he said that the new sanctions would not force Iran to give in to demands by the Western powers to end its nuclear enrichment program. However the following week, Irans top nuclear official announced defiantly that the country was on the verge of starting production at its second major uranium enrichment site. The new facility is buried deep underground on a welldefended military site and is considered far more resistant to airstrikes than the existing enrichment site at Natanz. Talks between Iran and six world powers resumed in Turkey on April 14th after a 15-month gap, as delegates sought to find ways of resolving a dispute over Tehran's nuclear program and easing fears of a new Middle East war. The talks are unlikely to yield any major breakthrough but diplomats believe a serious commitment from Iran could be enough to schedule another round of talks for next month and

start discussing issues at the heart of the dispute. Iran says it will propose "new initiatives" in Istanbul, though it is unclear whether it is now prepared to discuss curbs to its enrichment programme