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Iran Fact Check: Top 5 Myths
Iran and its nuclear program will undoubtedly feature prominently in tonight’s presidential debate on foreign policy. However, pervasive myths, distortions, and oversimplifications continue to distort the debate on Iran.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jamal Abdi
Phone: 202-386-6408
Email: [email protected]
Iran and its nuclear program will undoubtedly feature
prominently in tonight’s presidential debate on foreign policy. However, pervasive myths, distortions, and
oversimplifications continue to distort the debate on Iran. To confront these myths, the National Iranian
American Council (NIAC), together with Just Foreign Policy, has launched Iranfact.org, a site devoted to
fact-checking these myths and promoting an honest and accurate debate about
Iran policy in the U.S.
In preparation for tonight’s debate, NIAC presents five of
the biggest myths about Iran’s nuclear program, starting with a myth from the
Vice Presidential debate:
Myth #1: Iran has
fissile material for five nuclear weapons.
At the Vice
Presidential debate, Congressman Paul Ryan said “When Barack Obama was elected,
they had enough fissile material, nuclear material, to make one bomb. Now they
have enough to make five.” However, Iran
does not have any fissile nuclear material that could be used in a nuclear
weapon. Iran has quantities of low and medium-enriched uranium, but does not
possess weapons-grade uranium, which would be required to build a nuclear
weapon.
Myth #2: The U.S. and Israel believe Iran is developing
nuclear weapons.
The United States intelligence community says Iran has not
made the decision to develop a nuclear weapon.
Instead, the U.S. intelligence community is concerned that Iran is
engaged in a strategy of “nuclear hedging” — developing the capabilities that
would be necessary to build a nuclear weapon if such a political
decision were made. According to
multiple credible media reports, Israeli intelligence agencies agree with the
U.S. intelligence community that Iran has not decided to develop nuclear
weapons.
Myth #3: An Iranian nuclear weapon is imminent.
An Iranian nuclear weapon is not imminent. U.S. and
Israeli intelligence assess that Iran is not actively building a bomb, and that
it would take Iran at least two to three years to have a deliverable weapon.
Myth #4: Israel and the U.S. consider
Iran irrational.
Top Israeli and U.S. officials agree Iran is a rational actor. General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, recently told CNN, “We are of the opinion that the Iranian
regime is a rational actor.” Senior
Israeli officials, such as Meir Dagan, the former chief of Israel’s Mossad, have
made similarly unambiguous statements. “The regime in Iran is a very rational
regime,” Dagan told CBS News in March.
Myth #5: Israel considers Iran an “existential threat.”
While
many media outlets and politicians often state that Iran is an “existential
threat” to Israel, many senior Israeli defense officials argue this simply
isn’t true. Prominent
Israeli defense and intelligence officials have stated that Iran poses some
threat to Israel, but that it is not an “existential threat.”
About NIAC
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) is a
nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the interests of the
Iranian-American community. NIAC’s mission is focused on promoting an active
and engaged Iranian-American community, supporting aspirations for human rights
and democracy in Iran, opposing war between the US and Iran, and celebrating
our community’s deep cultural heritage. NIAC accomplishes its mission by
supplying the resources, knowledge and tools to enable greater civic participation
by Iranian Americans and informed decision-making by policymakers.
For more information, please visit www.niacouncil.org.
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2012-10-23 00:43:46
Source: http://www.niacouncil.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8651
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