It's Bibipalooza! Live, from Congress! One show only!

[Caliga]

Nothing nutty about overthrowing the Shah. Now what they replaced it with? That's something else.

He was our bastard.

[Admiral Yi]

Following the death of Ayotollah Khomeini, the leadership of President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei sought to revive Iran's overt nuclear civilian program and expand undeclared nuclear activities during the 1990s. According to a strategic dossier from International Institute for Strategic Studies, Iran turned away from Western suppliers and obtained nuclear assistance from Russian and China in a number of key areas, including uranium mining, milling and conversation, as well as technology for heavy-water research reactors.[51] However, Washington intervened with Moscow and Beijing to prevent Iran from fully acquiring its list of nuclear power and fuel-cycle facilities. The 1990s also saw Iran expand its furtive nuclear research into conversion, enrichment and plutonium separation. "Most importantly, on the basis of additional centrifuge assistance from the A.Q. Khan network, Iran was able to begin the construction of pilot-scale and industrial-scale enrichment facilities at Natanz around 2000."[51] Full exposure of Iran's nuclear activities came in 2002, when an Iranian exiled opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) declared the Natanz project in August of that year. Since that time, international pressure on Iran has remained steady, hampering but not halting the country's nuclear development.[51] Iran remains legally bound to the NPT and states its support for the treaty.

That's from Wiki

The Axis of Evil speech was made on January 29, 2002.

So we can drop once and for all the claim that Iran started its nuclear weapons program as a rationale response to fears of American attack?

[Razgovory]

They started it under the Shah, so can we stop any pretense it's to use against Israel?

[frunk]

It was after the first Gulf War though, where American forces easily trashed the Iraqi military which had been fighting a deadly campaign with Iran for the decade prior.  I think that made it clear that Iran could not stand up to the US in a conventional war, which it has to expect at some point if it has greater ambitions in the Middle East.  Either it could attempt to modernize and expand their military or undertake a long term, less costly nuclear program.

[Admiral Yi]

They started it under the Shah, so can we stop any pretense it's to use against Israel?

We started under FDR, so Russia doesn't have to worry either.

[The Brain]

Sweden was working on an atomic bomb when the US was inhabited by naked savages.

[alfred russel]

Sweden was working on an atomic bomb when the US was inhabited by naked savages.

But its substandard nuclear engineers have yet to achieve success. 

[The Brain]

Sweden was working on an atomic bomb when the US was inhabited by naked savages.

But its substandard nuclear engineers have yet to achieve success. 

It was cancelled because it would have been too awesome for the world.

[alfred russel]

Sweden was working on an atomic bomb when the US was inhabited by naked savages.

But its substandard nuclear engineers have yet to achieve success. 

It was cancelled because it would have been too awesome for the world.

Swedish engineers recognized the immigration trends and decided to forgo a nuclear weapon to keep it out of the hands of a future islamic state?

[The Minsky Moment]

Now what they replaced it with? That's something else.

Mehdi Bazargan was OK

[derspiess]

I hear Cameron has invited Obama to campaign against him.

[Razgovory]

They started it under the Shah, so can we stop any pretense it's to use against Israel?

We started under FDR, so Russia doesn't have to worry either.

Well, I'm glad we are all in agreement here.

[Siege]

I hear Cameron has invited Obama to campaign against him.

[Jacob]

So we can drop once and for all the claim that Iran started its nuclear weapons program as a rationale response to fears of American attack?

No one has made that claim, except you in refuting it.

The point, however, remains that if you're responsible for Iran's national security and interests at this time, pursuing nuclear power status seems pretty rational independently of whether the original program was initiated in response to fears of American attack or not.

[Admiral Yi]

You've got to be kidding.

What did you think Neil was talking about when you agreed with him?