More Words, Deeper Hole

Gerald Ford was willing to let the Iranians buy a plutonium extraction complex, so Iran could extract plutonium from its nuclear fuel. Plutonium can of course be used for power generation, which is what the Ford administration claimed it was for, but the ability to produce it is handy if you want to build nukes. A 1974 CIA assessment concluded that the Shah would have started a nuclear weapons program by the mid '80s if other countries developed their own nuclear weapons programs. Of course if you told modern Republicans about this they'd probably blame Obama, or maybe Jimmy Carter.