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Source: http://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-irans-past-nuclear-actions-matter-13164
Why Iran's Past Nuclear Actions Matter
(National Interest) Ilan Berman - The collapse of the American position in the nuclear talks with Iran in recent days has been nothing short of breathtaking, as the White House began walking back on the "possible military dimensions" (PMD) of Iran's nuclear effort that have been carried out so far. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has identified nearly a dozen potential PMD activities - ranging from bomb designs to the development of nuclear detonators - that Iran needs to explain fully. Just this spring, Secretary of State John Kerry was still insisting that Iran's disclosure of its past military-related atomic activities was an ironclad requirement for any sort of agreement with Tehran. The question of Iran's previous - and possibly current - military-related nuclear work goes to the heart of Western concerns over the intent of Iran's effort: namely, that it represents a path to the "bomb." Knowing as much as we can about how far Iran's work in this arena has progressed, and which processes are still underway (or could be restarted in short order), is essential to truly understanding the distance Iran still has to travel in order to attain nuclear status. The writer is vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council.