Carnegie Endowment 2d ago

The U.S. and Israel just fought a second war over Iran's nuclear program—and one of the world's leading nuclear experts says America lost. Iran's uranium stockpile sits fully intact in tunnels too deep to reach, and Tehran walked away with more leverage in nuclear talks. James Acton, a physicist and longtime analyst of Iran’s program, joins host Jon Bateman on The World Unpacked to give a detailed update on this crisis. Has the new supreme leader already decided to build a weapon? How quickly could Iran “break out” or “sneak out” to the bomb? And why does Acton now expect more wars—followed by a nuclear detonation? Find the episode transcript and streaming audio, and get the show direct to your inbox, here: https://carnegieendowment.org/podcasts/the-world-unpacked/a-physicist-explains-how-iran-can-still-go-nuclear Host: Follow Jon on X: https://x.com/JonKBateman Guest: James Acton: https://x.com/james_acton32?lang=en Chapters: 00:00 Intro – Did the U.S. Lose the War Against Iran? 01:32 Iran's Nuclear Program Explained: Uranium, Enrichment & The Bomb 11:22 What Survived the Strikes? Hidden Uranium, Tunnels & Secret Facilities 29:00 How Close Is Iran to a Nuclear Weapon? Breakout vs. Sneakout 41:15 Why Airstrikes May Not Stop Iran's Nuclear Program 50:19 Can Diplomacy Still Work? What a New Nuclear Deal Would Require 58:02 The Future: Endless Conflict or an Iranian Nuclear Test? Like and subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/38sljlH The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace generates strategic ideas and independent analysis, supports diplomacy, and trains the next generation of international scholar-practitioners to help countries and institutions take on the most difficult global problems and advance peace. Visit our website: https://carnegieendowment.org/ Follow us on X: https://x.com/CarnegieEndow Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carnegieendow/