Inclusion in this chronology does not necessarily indicate that a particular development is of direct or indirect proliferation significance. Some entries provide international or domestic context for technological development and national policymaking. Moreover, some entries may refer to developments with positive consequences for nonproliferation.

1988
While Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani served as Majlis speaker and acting commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he said in a talk with military officers that the Iran-Iraq War "taught us that international laws are only scraps of paper." He says Iran should consider getting chemical and biological weapons.
—Michael Eisenstadt, "Déjà vu All Over Again? Iran's Military Build-Up: An Assessment," National Defense University, 22 February 1994.

1988
Iran receives a delivery of large quantities of uranium concrete from South Africa. A book reports that Iran owns 15% of the Rossig uranium mine in Namibia.
—"An Iranian Nuclear Chronology, 1987-1982," Middle East Defense News, 8 June 1992, in Lexis-Nexis, <http://www.lexis-nexis.com/>. Shyam Bhatia, Nuclear Rivals in the Middle East, (New York, NY: Routledge Press) 1988, p. 83; in Mark Gorwitz, "Foreign Assistance to Iran's Nuclear and Missile Programs; Emphasis on Russian Assistance: Analysis and Assessment," CNS Unpublished Report, October 1998.

1988
An Iranian scientist reports that Iran has built a plutonium extraction laboratory at the Tehran Research Center, but the laboratory has not yet operated with plutonium-bearing materials.
—Leonard S. Spector and Jacqueline R. Smith, "Nuclear Ambitions: The Spread of Nuclear weapons 1989-1990, (Boulder, Westview Press: 1990), p. 208.

1988
Argentina helps service an Iranian nuclear power plant. Argentine exports to Iran are termed politically dangerous.
—Wall Street Journal, 10 February 1992, p. A12; Niguel J. Culaci, La Prensa (Buenos Aires), 25 May 1988, p. 8; in Nuclear Developments, 13 July 1988, pp. 1-2.

1988-1989
Iran approaches Pakistan for help in enriching uranium. The head of Pakistan's uranium enrichment program begins to hold talks with officials at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran in 1988. Rumors that Pakistan is helping Iran develop nuclear weapons persist. [Note: See also November 1986 and 1987 and June 1988 for more on the agreement to cooperate between Pakistan and Iran.]
—Mark Hibbs, Nucleonics Week, 2 June 1991, pp. 17-18; David Albright and Mark Hibbs, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, March 1992, p. 9-11.

1988-1991
China trains engineers of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), the majority of them from the Isfahan facility, in nuclear reactor design in China, according to an official European source. European officials also say China has been supplying the AEOI with nuclear equipment and information on facility design. [Note: These transactions apparently took place under a secret China-Iran nuclear cooperation agreement reached after 1985. See Mid-1980s entry.]
—Mark Hibbs, Nucleonics Week, 2 May 1991, pp. 1, 10-11; Mark Hibbs, Nucleonics Week, 23 May 1991, pp. 17-18; Mark Hibbs and Neel Patri, Nucleonics Week, 21 November 1991, pp. 2-3; Mark Hibbs, Neel Patri, and Neal Sandler, NuclearFuel, 25 November 1991, pp. 8-9.

1988-1989
Large quantities of uranium concentrate are delivered to Iran from South Africa. Intelligence reports from European officials worry that Iran might seek to enrich this material clandestinely, with the help of Pakistan. Abdul Qadir Khan, who is in charge of Pakistan's uranium enrichment program, holds talks with officials at the Atomic Energy Organizations of Iran (AEOI) beginning in 1988, when nuclear cooperation between the two nations increases. Reza Amrollahi, head of the AEOI, says Iran's nuclear program is dedicated exclusively to peaceful uses, but there are indications that Amrollahi is not fully in control of AEOI.
—Mark Hibbs, "Bonn Will Decline Teheran Bid To Resuscitate Bushehr Project," Nucleonics Week, 2 May 1991, pp. 17-18.

24 February 1988
Somos of Buenos Aires reports that at the request of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Argentina reconverted the core of an Iranian research reactor and provided the fuel for operating it. Argentina, West Germany, and Spain are cooperating in completing the Iranian nuclear power plant at Bushehr.
—"Sabato On Argentina-Brazil Nuclear Cooperation Agreements," Nuclear Developments, 24 February 1988, pp. 20-21.

25 February 1988
Nuclear Developments reports that the prime minister of Sudan has confirmed a black market of uranium operated out of Khartoum where one kilogram costs $3 million. Sudan and other African nations ran a network of black market exports, which included sales to Iran and Iraq during 1987 and 1988.
—"Former Officer Reveals Black Market Uranium Sales" Nuclear Developments, 25 February 1988, pp. 30-31.

March 1988
The IAEA says that it will send inspectors to Bushehr in a few months to assess the damage from Iraqi attacks on the nuclear power plant.
—Gamini Seneviratne, Nucleonics Week, 26 February 1987, p. 13; Worldwide Report, 23 April 1987, p. 46; in AFP (Paris), 24 March 1987; Nuclear Engineering International, June 1987, p. 32; PPNN Newsbrief, March 1988, p. 4; in IAEA Newsbriefs, November 1987; Mark Hibbs, Nucleonics Week, 26 November 1987; Gamini Seneviratne, Nucleonics Week, 3 March 1988, p. 7; Aziz Utkan, Nuclear Developments, 5 May 1989, p. 20; in MENA (Cairo), 21 April 1989; Nuclear News, August 1989, p. 101.

June 1988
The Observer (London) reports that Pakistan and Iran have signed a cooperation agreement under which Iranian engineers will be trained in Pakistan. M.A. Khan of Pakistan and Reza Amrollahi of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran are said to have signed the pact; however, both Pakistan and Iran deny its existence. Pakistan says that it would not sign an agreement with Iran since Iran is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Pakistan also denies that any Pakistani aid will be provided to the Bushehr nuclear power plant. Six Iranian engineers are said to be in Pakistan under a 1987 agreement. [Note: See 21 June 1988.]
—Al-Watan (Kuwait), 13 June 1988, p. 1; in Nuclear Developments, 13 July 1988, p. 19; Islamabad Domestic Service, 14 June 1988; in Nuclear Developments, 21 June 1988, p. 24; Kayhan International (Tehran), 14 June 1988, p. 2; in Nuclear Developments, 10 August 1988, p. 22.

14 June 1988
India news media reports that Pakistan has agreed to train Iranian nuclear personnel.
—John Gunther Dean, "Reported Pakistani and Iranian Nuclear Cooperation," Embassy Cable, 14 June 1988, in Digital National Security Archive, <http://nsarchive.chadwyck.com>.

21 June 1988
Islamabad Domestic Service says that Pakistan denies signing a secret nuclear pact with Iran. The spokesman claims that no Pakistani scientist has visited Iran's nuclear plant in Bushehr in recent years, nor has an Iranian nuclear expert received advanced training in Pakistan. [Note: see entry 14 June 1988.]
—"Spokesman Denies "Secret" Nuclear Pact With Iran" Nuclear Developments, 21 June 1988, p. 24.

19 July 1988
Iraq attacks the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
—Anthony H. Cordesman, "Iran and Nuclear Weapons: A Working Draft," Center for Strategic and International Studies, 7 February 2000.

September 1988
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approves the sale by Argentina of 115.8kg of 20% enriched uranium to Iran. The order is to be filled by mid-1990. [Note: Argentina and Iran had agreed on the sale on 5 May 1987; however, the IAEA delays the supply in June 1989. See 5 May 1987 and June 1989 entries.]
—Gamini Seneviratne, Nuclear Fuel, 3 October 1988, p. 13; Richard Kessler, Nuclear Fuel, 14 November 1988, pp. 3-4; Richard Kessler, Nuclear Fuel, 24 July 1989, pp. 12-13.

Mid-September 1988
A recommendation by the Secretariat of the International Atomic Energy Agency to the IAEA governing board to approve Iran's request for the agency's help in transferring from Argentine 115.8kg of 20% enriched uranium is postponed. The issue will be put on the agenda for the next meeting on 26 September 1988. The enriched uranium fuel for Iran's research reactor had been supplied by the United States, but that supply had been interrupted. The reactor is to be converted from highly enriched to low-enriched uranium with IAEA assistance.
—Gamini Seneviratne, "IAEA Board Postpones Decision On Argentina-Iran Fuel Transfer" Nucleonics Week, 22 September 1988, p. 3.

26 September 1988
The International Atomic Energy Agency approves Iran's request for assistance in receiving 115.8kg of 20% enriched uranium from Argentina. The fuel is to be supplied by Argentina's Investigaciones Aplicadas (INVAP). The research reactor that will use the fuel started up in 1967 and has operated on 93% enriched uranium supplied by the United States. The United States stopped authorizing export of the fuel by the United Nuclear Corporation in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
—Gamini Seneviratne, "IAEA Approves Argentine Fuel For Teheran Research Reactor," Nuclear Fuel, 3 October 1988, p. 13.

October 1988
At an annual conference held to draw Iranian nuclear scientists living in exile, Rafsanjani appeals to the participants to return home permanently. Rafsanjani also openly calls for the development of nuclear weapons.
—Kenneth R. Timmerman, "Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Cases of Iran, Syria, and Libya," A Simon Wiesenthal Center Special Report from Middle East Defense News, August 1992, p. 42; Warren H. Donnelly and Zachary S. Davis, "Iran's Nuclear Activities and the Congressional Response," CRS Issue Brief, Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress, 20 May 1992, p. 10.

6 October 1988
In an address to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps broadcast on Tehran radio, Iranian Parliament Speaker Hashemi-Rafsajani calls for developing nuclear and other unconventional weapons. The importance of such weapons "was made very clear during the [Iran-Iraq] war," he says. "We should fully equip ourselves both in the offensive and defense use of chemical, bacteriological, and radiological weapons. From now on, you should make use of the opportunity and perform this task."
—"The China-Iran Nuclear Cloud," Middle East Defense News, 22 July 1991; in Lexis-Nexis, <http://www.lexis-nexis.com>.

14 November 1988
Nuclear Fuel reports that Argentina has contracts to supply 115.8kg of 20% enriched uranium to Iran, which must by filled by mid-1990.
—Richard Kessler, "Argentina's Cnea Turns To Soviets For Small Supply Of Enriched Uranium," Nuclear Fuel, 14 November 1988, pp. 3-4.

23 December 1988
Islamabad Domestic Service says that Pakistan denies that it is assisting Iran in building a nuclear facility at Qazvin.
—"UK Paper's Claim Of Nuclear Help To Iran Denied," Nuclear Developments, 23 December 1988, p. 17.