The global arms control community was severely shaken in the early 1990s by the belated discovery that two signatories to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons—Iraq and North Korea—possessed advanced clandestine nuclear weapons programs. In response to these challenges and to enhance its inspections capability, the International Atomic Energy Agency adopted a strengthened safeguards regime known as “Program 93+2.”
Currently, the Islamic Republic of Iran provides a good test case for evaluating the implementation of Program 93+2. In Iran’s Nuclear Policy and the IAEA, Chen Zak examines whether this new verification system would permit the identification of Iranian nuclear weapons development and whether a regional agreement might ultimately prove to be a more effective option for the Middle East.