Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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Donald Trump says he’s bombing Iran to prevent the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapons.
But he may be providing with Tehran more incentive to sprint toward developing a nuclear bomb, which is now easier for Iran to make, ever since he ripped up the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in his first term.
Iran responded by enriching its uranium to a much higher level than it had been doing under the agreement. And it now possesses a large stockpile of highly enriched uranium that’s a lot closer to the level of refinement needed for bomb-grade material. And international nuclear inspectors—who were able to keep track of Iran’s uranium stockpile before Trump bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities last June—aren’t sure where this uranium is now.
In short, with his war in Iran, Trump has created a big, possibly catastrophic problem: A half-ton of highly enriched uranium, which can be made bomb-ready, is somewhere…out there—available for use by Iran’s new regime or perhaps not fully secured and susceptible to theft or expropriation.
David Corn spoke to Joe Cirincione, a veteran nuclear policy expert, about this stockpile and the challenges it presents.
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► For more, visit Mother Jones: motherjones.com
Donald Trump says he’s bombing Iran to prevent the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapons.
But he may be providing with Tehran more incentive to sprint toward developing a nuclear bomb, which is now easier for Iran to make, ever since he ripped up the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in his first term.
Iran responded by enriching its uranium to a much higher level than it had been doing under the agreement. And it now possesses a large stockpile of highly enriched uranium that’s a lot closer to the level of refinement needed for bomb-grade material. And international nuclear inspectors—who were able to keep track of Iran’s uranium stockpile before Trump bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities last June—aren’t sure where this uranium is now.
In short, with his war in Iran, Trump has created a big, possibly catastrophic problem: A half-ton of highly enriched uranium, which can be made bomb-ready, is somewhere…out there—available for use by Iran’s new regime or perhaps not fully secured and susceptible to theft or expropriation.
David Corn spoke to Joe Cirincione, a veteran nuclear policy expert, about this stockpile and the challenges it presents.
--
For more award-winning independent reporting, visit Mother Jones: motherjones.com
Facebook: facebook.com/motherjones
Twitter: twitter.com/motherjones
Instagram: instagram.com/motherjonesmag
