Mousavi in Nuclear Race

He was an early supporter of Iran’s nuclear program, and one of the documents revealed that the then-head of Iran’s atomic energy organization requested Mousavi’s approval for purchasing the centrifuges on the black market. Iran subsequently acquired the centrifuges through the smuggling ring of Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan.

Notably, in 1987 during his tenure as prime minister, Mousavi directly approved the acquisition of clandestine centrifuge technology from Pakistan’s A.Q. Khan Network. In the late 1980s, the Khan network began to provide nuclear components to Iran; additionally, during Mousavi’s time in office, Iranian scientists were sent to Pakistan for training in nuclear technology.

The document from March 1987, classified as secret, said that Iran’s then-chief atomic energy official said Tehran’s activities related to Khan must remain secret. The document appeared as part of a quarterly report the IAEA issues as part of its supervision of Tehran’s nuclear program.

On April 2009, Mir-Hossein Mousavi says he will push ahead with Iran’s nuclear activities and will never halt uranium enrichment if elected.

“No one in Iran will accept suspension,” the Financial Times quoted Mousavi as saying in his first interview with the international media.

He said that Iran halted its enrichment work between 2003 and 2005 in the hope that it would build confidence in the peaceful nature of its program.

The Reformist candidate described suspension as a “bad experience and a tool to deprive Iran of having access to nuclear technology”.

He said if elected, his policy would be to work to provide “guarantees” that Tehran’s nuclear activities would never divert to non-peaceful aims.

On December 2009, Mir-Hossein Mousavi has sharply criticized the outcome of Iran’s talks with world powers, making clear he was against a proposal to send enriched uranium abroad, a reformist website reported.

“The discussions in Geneva were really surprising and if the promises given (to the West) are realised then the hard work of thousands of scientists would be ruined,” Kaleme website quoted Mousavi as saying, in a clear reference to the fuel plan.

“And if we cannot keep our promises then it would prepare the ground for harder sanctions against the country,” he said in a meeting with pro-reform cleric Mehdi Karoubi, Kaleme reported.

Then it was Mousavi who initiated Iran’s nuclear program in the 1980s and likely would be intent on carrying through Iran’s nuclear ambitions.