00:00Now, as we unpack further the fallout from the Iran strikes, the Nuclear Threat Initiative warns that Washington will face
00:07many challenges in the coming weeks as a result of the war.
00:11One of the most consequential is the risk that Iran's nuclear materials and technology may no longer be secure if
00:18the regime collapses.
00:20Joining us now is the initiative's co-chair and former U.S. Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz.
00:26Really good to see you, Ernest. First off, maybe talk to us about when it comes to the events over
00:31the weekend, the death of the Ayatollah, the extent in which there not being any clear Iranian leadership at this
00:39stage.
00:39Does it make things more dangerous as far as Iran's nuclear assets are concerned?
00:46Well, I think there is an unfortunate, likely retreat from any possibility of getting the international inspectors from the International
00:56Atomic Energy Agency back in the country.
00:58And that was certainly essential following the military activity of last June.
01:04I've said many times that, to me, I would be putting first priority on understanding the fate of the 60
01:13percent enriched uranium.
01:16I think it has not been emphasized enough that that material actually could be directly used in a nuclear explosive
01:23device.
01:24We don't know where it is.
01:26It's thought that some of it certainly may still be deep in Isfahan, covered with rubble.
01:34But we also don't know if much of it was moved away.
01:38So I think a lot of the focus on enrichment is understandable.
01:42But if they have a lot of that 60 percent uranium still in their possession, presumably hidden somewhere, the reality
01:52is they could make a nuclear explosive without further enrichment.
01:57So I think that's number one.
01:59But number two is clearly no one knows how this is going to end, really, or when it's going to
02:05end.
02:05But when it does, I think our priority has to be to get the IAEA, the international inspectors, back into
02:14Iran with the full set of tools that they had before President Trump tore up the JCPOA and Iran began
02:27to break out of the constraints of that agreement.
02:32We need to get back to the full set of tools of the IAEA and to add to it the
02:39cooperation of a future Iranian government in terms of understanding what's happened to the fissile material in the meantime, when
02:48the IAEA did not have eyes essentially on the nuclear enterprise.
Comments