Episode 3 - Part 1 | In this week’s Demystifying Iran, Professor Mohammad Marandi exposes a rarely acknowledged fact: Iran’s nuclear program began in 1957 with full US backing under the Atoms for Peace agreement. The United States even helped build Iran’s first reactor, while Germany and France moved to supply nuclear technology. At the time, Iran’s nuclear ambitions were "a celebrated symbol of modernity," Marandi says, adding, "There was no crisis" or "threat". That narrative only emerged after the Islamic Revolution, when a compliant ally was replaced by an "anti-imperialist revolution in the streets," Professor Marandi underscored. Marandi further highlights the clearest test of intent: despite existential threats and the technical ability to produce chemical weapons, Iran refused, after Imam Ruhollah Khomeini banned weapons of mass destruction. Marandi challenges the dominant Western, "Zionist and neocan narrative" by asking, "If Iran showed restraint when it had the strongest incentive to escalate, what is really driving this manufactured crisis?" Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BvrJxPXAmio Check our website: https://english.almayadeen.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MayadeenEnglish Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arenas.tv?igsh=MWc2bWRrYnYwNWNldg== Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/almayadeenegnlish/ Join our Telegram channel: https://t.me/almayadeenenglish Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@almayadeenenglish?si=H0CXf0cGKCUJd-G5 Follow us on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@mayadeenenglish?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
