Video: Israel, Iran, and secret nukes—Why a diplomatic solution in Iran is the best option
By Erik English | July 21, 2025
Editor's note: This video was originally published in July 2025. We are republishing it now to provide context for the 2026 US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
According to a leaked intelligence report, the recent US attacks against Iran’s nuclear facilities likely pushed back their nuclear program by only a few months—a far cry from Donald Trump’s initial claim that Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities had been “completely and totally obliterated.” Since Trump withdrew the US from the Iran deal—formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—in 2018, Iran has built back its stockpile of enriched uranium and even started enriching at levels that could create a bomb.
These military actions against Iran’s nuclear weapons development are the latest in a long line of efforts to prevent a nuclear breakout within the Middle East and North Africa. Israel is believed to be the first Middle Eastern nation to develop a nuclear weapon, which it accomplished through covert means. Meanwhile, countries that renounced efforts to develop nuclear weapons, like Libya, Syria, and Iraq, later saw their leaders deposed and sometimes brutally executed.
Still, other nations have sought to follow Israel’s path to develop their own weapons, which could have cascading effects around the world. If Trump is interested in resolving the crisis, diplomacy remains the best method for preventing a nuclear breakout in Iran and beyond.
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Keywords: Iran, Iran deal, Israel, North Korea, Trump, nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear weapons
Topics: Multimedia, Nuclear Risk
Erik English
Erik English is a former associate multimedia editor at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. He has worked at the International Atomic ... Read More
What diplomatic solution to you have mind?
First Iran would have to agree not to enrich
Second agree to enrich with IAEA rul
Third no agreement.
What’s the deal you have in mind?
Iran has never agreed to rules that stopped enrichment above energy levels or discloses military activities.
So what’s your alternative? You have nothing.