In the aftermath of U.S. military airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities ordered by President Donald Trump, questions are once again arising about the long and complex history of Iran’s nuclear ambitions — and America’s unexpected role in their origins. According to a detailed report by The New York Times, the roots of Iran’s nuclear program can be traced back to an era when the United States itself provided Tehran with the foundational tools of atomic science.
This legacy is a cautionary tale about unintended consequences, one that echoes moral questions about responsibility, the pursuit of peace, and the ethical use of human knowledge — concerns that resonate deeply within Catholic teaching on global stewardship and the dignity of the human person.
An Unexpected Origin
As reported by The New York Times, the story begins in the 1960s when the United States, under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, launched the “Atoms for Peace” initiative — a program meant to share nuclear knowledge for peaceful purposes such as energy, agriculture, and medicine. At the time, Iran was led by Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, a secular monarch closely aligned with the West. Iran received a small nuclear reactor from the U.S. in 1967, which remains operational today in Tehran’s northern suburbs, though it poses no direct threat of weaponization.
“We gave Iran its starter kit,” Robert Einhorn, a former U.S. arms control official, told The New York Times. “We weren’t terribly concerned about nuclear proliferation in those days.”
A Legacy of Good Intentions — and Lasting Consequences
What began as an idealistic effort to channel nuclear technology for peaceful advancement gradually laid the groundwork for today’s nuclear tensions. The Shah’s government embraced atomic development as a symbol of modernization and national pride. Though Iran signed the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and initially agreed to safeguards, suspicions soon grew about its long-term intentions. By the late 1970s, the Carter administration began walking back previous deals over concerns about Iran’s growing interest in nuclear fuel production — a capability that can also be used for weapons.
After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran’s new leaders appeared uninterested in the nuclear program, viewing it as a Western intrusion. However, war with Iraq in the 1980s changed that calculus. Iran eventually turned to Pakistan’s nuclear black market, where it acquired centrifuge technology — a turning point that escalated the international crisis.
“This enrichment program is not the result of U.S. assistance,” said Gary Samore, a former White House nuclear official. “The Iranians got their centrifuge technology from Pakistan,” itself a beneficiary of the original Atoms for Peace program.
Still, as The Times notes, the infrastructure for nuclear advancement in Iran was originally made possible by American partnerships — training programs, research exchanges, and nuclear know-how.
Moral Implications for the Present
From a Catholic perspective, the story is not just about geopolitics but also about moral responsibility. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “scientific research and applications must respect the dignity of the human person and the common good” (CCC 2294). Efforts like Atoms for Peace may have been rooted in hope and idealism, but the long arc of history reveals how even peaceful intentions can sow unintended risks when power is divorced from accountability.
Pope Leo XIV, in a recent Angelus address concerning the Middle East crisis, warned: “The cry for peace demands responsibility and reason and must not be drowned out by the roar of weapons.”
The use of nuclear weapons is explicitly condemned in Catholic teaching due to their indiscriminate destruction and threat to innocent life. However, the Church also urges prudence in policy, transparency in scientific pursuits, and caution against repeating the same moral errors.
What Comes Next
The same U.S. policies that once introduced nuclear technology to Iran are now under scrutiny again. The Trump administration, building on initiatives started under President Biden, has explored transferring U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia — another authoritarian regime with ambitions for modernization. As Samore warns, such transfers could set a “terrible precedent.”
For Catholics, this raises vital questions about the moral limits of scientific advancement, the duty of nations to protect life, and the imperative to pursue peace. In a world shaped by the past, the Church calls on the faithful — and the powerful — to learn from history, seek justice, and reject paths that lead to proliferation and destruction.
Sources: David E. Sanger, Julian E. Barnes, and Farnaz Fassihi, “Iran’s Nuclear Program Was Born in the U.S. Decades Ago,” The New York Times, June 2025.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 2307–2317, 2293–2295.
Angelus Address, Pope Leo XIV, June 2025.
