 Uranium
Revolution?: Qadeer Abdul Khan and Iran's Nuclear Ambitions
Author: Rob Wood
When the IAEA recently
announced that Iran was possibly in breach of the Nuclear Weapons
Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) and had likely been developing an
enrichment plant in the city of Natanz, the worst predictions of
some appeared to have come true. The question on many people's lips
is where exactly they procured the expertise to build such a plant,
given that the Russians agreed not to aid this development. Given
that the US suspects the anti-western Pakistani scientist Dr Qadeer
Abdul Khan of possible collusion with Al Quaeda, is it that much
of a stretch to posit that he could also be a prime candidate for
the source of know-how for the new uranium enrichment plant in Iran?
A review of Dr Khan's
past involvement in the international proliferation of nuclear weapons
makes for long, long… long reading. Dr Khan is most famous
for being the father of the Pakistani nuclear bomb, an achievement
which has won him fame and adoration in his home country. His renown
has even led to the formation of a Khan's XI cricket team, quite
an honour in cricket-mad Pakistan. But his rise to the top has been
gradual. Dr Khan earned his PhD in Europe before going on to work
at the joint British / German / Dutch uranium enrichment facility,
formed by these countries due to their desire for independence from
the US in their own nuclear programs. From there he returned to
Pakistan in the late 70s to lead their scientists in developing
a domestic nuclear program. Dr Khan was subsequently bought up on
charges in Holland for allegedly attempting to steal sensitive information
regarding the Dutch nuclear program. The charges were dropped on
a legal technicality though he has constantly denied any wrongdoing.
Dr Khan's personal history
and rhetoric may make some in western administrations quite nervous.
He is well known for his patriotism, which some might argue borders
on nationalistic. This may have been borne of his experience of
the division of Pakistan and India as a child when he was mistreated
by Indian officials, an incident he often refers to in interviews.
His regret at the position of Pakistan during the succession of
East Pakistan also seems to crop up occasionally. His constant rhetorical
aggressiveness reveals a character somewhat resentful of what he
perceives as western arrogance and interference in the affairs of
Pakistan and the wider Islamic world. It also reveals a certain
belief in Islamic solidarity. "They dislike our god, they dislike
our prophet, they dislike our leaders and no wonder they dislike
anybody who tries to put this country on an independent and self-reliant
path." In a 2001 interview he dismissed attacks on his decision
to pursue a nuclear bomb for Pakistan by saying, "They dislike
me and accuse me of all kinds of unsubstantiated and fabricated
lies because I disturbed all of their strategic plans, the balance
of power and blackmailing potential in this part of the world."
It would perhaps not be too much of a jump to surmise Dr Khan's
sympathy for the plight of Iran given the USA's latest adventures
in Afghanistan and Iraq, which serve to surround the Islamic Republic.
As it turns out, Dr Khan
has a long history of cooperation with the Iranians. In 1986 he
travelled to Tehran where he was largely responsible for promoting
the signing of a treaty of Nuclear cooperation between Pakistan
and Iran. However, Iran's nuclear program was all but destroyed
by attacks during the Iran-Iraq war, which ended only in 1988. The
coming of the Taliban in Afghanistan also meant that Iran and Pakistan
relations subsequently soured due to competition for influence in
that country. As such, the nuclear cooperation between these powers
also fell away.
More recently the US
administration has accused Dr Khan of selling his expertise to the
North Koreans who are busy trying to restart their own nuclear program.
It is believed that Dr Khan visited North Korea as many as thirteen
times in recent years. Moreover the US claims to have intelligence
of an unannounced Pakistani military delegation to North Korea,
perhaps attached to the exchange of missile and nuclear technology
between the two countries. The theory goes that the expertise of
Dr Khan in matters nuclear was traded for the missile expertise
of the North Koreans. In fact, the Ghauri I missile of Pakistan
is a modified version of the North Korean Nodong missile of which
Dr Khan was able to secure between ten and twelve samples in 1992
(Dr Khan also led Pakistan's medium range missile program). Involvement
in the North Korean program led the US to slap sanctions on the
Khan Research Laboratories in May. This has followed massive US
pressure in past years on General Musharaf to remove Dr Khan from
his official capacity at the head of the Pakistani nuclear program,
a demand conceded by the General two years ago. This move simply
served to make Khan an independent player, no longer under strict
government direction. In fact, the recent complaints of the US show
that some of the North Korean program was aided by Khan in a freelance
capacity.
It has sometimes been
claimed in Dr Khan's defence that his expertise lay in the area
of uranium enrichment rather than the reprocessing that the North
Koreans have restarted. Although this is a very weak defence it
brings us to the current case of Iran. In 1995, led by Boris Yeltsin,
the Russians signed the Bushehr Protocol with Iran, thus agreeing
to aid in the building of the Iranian civilian nuclear program.
Later in the same year the US secured an agreement with Yeltsin
to abandon the element of the deal with Iran, which was to see the
Russians build a centrifugal enrichment plant, originally guaranteed
in the Bushehr Protocol. It was wisely thought that the construction
of an enrichment facility would rapidly advance the military nuclear
ambitions of Iran. It is now becoming apparent that Iran has sidestepped
this problem.
While there still remains
a certain competition for influence in Afghanistan between Pakistan
and Iran today, most would concede that relations have warmed, since
the recent intervention of the US in Afghanistan. Indeed Iran's
foreign Minister, Kamal Kharazai announced in 2001 that "Differences
[between Iran and Pakistan] are now over." Whilst perhaps a
little exaggerated, the claim is indicative of growing ties between
the two, ties perhaps allowing a certain renewed freedom to Dr Khan's
earlier ambitions of Iran-Pakistani nuclear cooperation. While nuclear
cooperation between Pakistan and Iran is highly unlikely to be given
any official endorsement, it remains a possibility that Pakistan
has loosened the US-imposed leash on (a now freelance) Dr Khan.
With the announcement
by the IAEA of their suspicions that Iran has been pursuing a nuclear
weapons program through the development of a uranium enrichment
facility, the spotlight must fall again on Dr Khan as a likely candidate
for the provision of the necessary expertise. Here we have a brilliant
scientist with expertise in uranium enrichment, a shadowy history,
which includes offering aid to anti-Western regimes and a history
of cooperation with the Iranians. The strong possibility that Dr
Khan has renewed his ties with the Iranians and aided the nuclear
ambitions of yet another anti-western government should perhaps
now be taken seriously.
Author: Rob Wood
Contact: news@polosbastards.com
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