US Atoms for Peace Agreement Launches Iran's Nuclear Program

The US and Iran sign a civil nuclear cooperation deal under Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace initiative, laying the foundation for Iran's controversial nuclear program.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace program led to a bilateral agreement between the United States and Iran, under which Iran received nuclear education, technology, and eventually a research reactor and weapons-grade enriched uranium fuel. The Shah embraced nuclear energy as a symbol of Iran's modernization. By the 1970s, Iran was planning dozens of nuclear reactors with US support. This collaboration continued until the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after which Iran's nuclear ambitions — built on American foundations — became one of the defining flashpoints of the US-Iran conflict for decades to come.