Iran Is Not Building a Nuclear Bomb: A Fact Sheet

“You know, it’s not a complicated formula,” U.S. President Donald Trump said. “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. That’s all there is.” So, negotiations should be successful because Iran neither has, nor are they pursuing, a nuclear weapon.

The United States has for years threatened that “all options are on the table,” including “bombing the likes of which they have never seen before,” if Iran doesn’t come to an agreement that guarantees they will not pursue a nuclear bomb. But Iran signed precisely such an agreement in 2015 with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It was Donald Trump and the United States, and not Iran, that illegally broke that agreement.

Broad and unquestioning public acceptance that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon is build upon what A.B. Abrams has called a “greater vilifying metanarrative.” The U.S. and its partners, both government and media, repeat a claim so often that a foundation is built in the public imagination upon which current accusations are easily established.