How Much Nuclear Power Does Iran Need?

One of the arguments against Iran’s nuclear program has been that Iran as an oil-rich country does not need nuclear energy as a source for power generation. When we look back, we see that Iran entered into the nuclear field in 1957, encouraged by the Americans, specifically thanks to President Dwight Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace Initiative. In the 1970s, the shah had ambitious plans for expanding the nuclear program, envisioning 23 nuclear power plants by 1994, with support from the United States. One wonders why this argument was not raised then, when Iran’s population was only one-third of what it is today.