David Marchese

But they did so relatively slowly, and in 2013, President Obama started a secret series of talks, and that turned into a negotiation that two years later turned out to be a way to cap the Iranian nuclear programs. Right, just kind of stall it out, freeze it in place. Freeze it in place and ship 97% of the fuel that they had already produced out to Russia.

And, you know, this was an agreement that had some flaws in it. You know, over time, the Iranians under the agreement were allowed to begin to figure out how to make uranium more efficiently. And basically, by 2030... They would have no restraints at all. But Obama thought this was actually a pretty good bet. After all, Ayatollah Khamenei was old. He was believed to be suffering from cancer.

And, you know, this was an agreement that had some flaws in it. You know, over time, the Iranians under the agreement were allowed to begin to figure out how to make uranium more efficiently. And basically, by 2030... They would have no restraints at all. But Obama thought this was actually a pretty good bet. After all, Ayatollah Khamenei was old. He was believed to be suffering from cancer.

And this would buy some time. And in return, years of sanctions approved by the United Nations and enforced by the U.S. and Europe would get lifted. So for them, there was a lot of inducement to reach the deal. Right.

And this would buy some time. And in return, years of sanctions approved by the United Nations and enforced by the U.S. and Europe would get lifted. So for them, there was a lot of inducement to reach the deal. Right.

Actually, he did it as candidate. It was one of his earliest positions in 2016, that this deal was a giveaway. It was negotiated by idiots and never should have been agreed to. In fact, at one point, Maggie Haberman and I were interviewing him in 2016 in, I think, one of his first foreign policy interviews. And he said, you know, I would have gotten up from the table

Actually, he did it as candidate. It was one of his earliest positions in 2016, that this deal was a giveaway. It was negotiated by idiots and never should have been agreed to. In fact, at one point, Maggie Haberman and I were interviewing him in 2016 in, I think, one of his first foreign policy interviews. And he said, you know, I would have gotten up from the table

And walked away on parts of that agreement. And so I remember pulling out a copy of the agreement, and the Obama agreement was not short. It was like 150 detailed pages. And I said, what part of this would you have walked away from? Well, of course, he fumbled around for a bit. But eventually when I said, well, is it long enough? He said, no, no, no, it doesn't last long enough.

And walked away on parts of that agreement. And so I remember pulling out a copy of the agreement, and the Obama agreement was not short. It was like 150 detailed pages. And I said, what part of this would you have walked away from? Well, of course, he fumbled around for a bit. But eventually when I said, well, is it long enough? He said, no, no, no, it doesn't last long enough.

And, you know, it doesn't actually dismantle anything. So those were his complaints. But the fact of the matter is when he came in as president, his own aide said to him, hey, this thing is working. They're not producing enough fuel to make a single weapon. So we understand that you hate it, but maybe you shouldn't tear it up.

And, you know, it doesn't actually dismantle anything. So those were his complaints. But the fact of the matter is when he came in as president, his own aide said to him, hey, this thing is working. They're not producing enough fuel to make a single weapon. So we understand that you hate it, but maybe you shouldn't tear it up.

Well, you know, Michael, since he left office in January of 2021, a lot has changed for the United States, for Iran, for the state of its nuclear program, even for the Israelis, who, of course, have long been trying to slow this down and threatening to destroy Iran's facilities.

Well, you know, Michael, since he left office in January of 2021, a lot has changed for the United States, for Iran, for the state of its nuclear program, even for the Israelis, who, of course, have long been trying to slow this down and threatening to destroy Iran's facilities.

Well, the main thing that's changed in Donald Trump's perception of it is that he's been given a lot of intelligence reports that suggest that Iran is wildly closer to a weapon than it was when he left office. Huh. How much closer? Way closer. So to make a nuclear weapon, you need, most importantly, the fuel for it. You need uranium or plutonium.

Well, the main thing that's changed in Donald Trump's perception of it is that he's been given a lot of intelligence reports that suggest that Iran is wildly closer to a weapon than it was when he left office. Huh. How much closer? Way closer. So to make a nuclear weapon, you need, most importantly, the fuel for it. You need uranium or plutonium.

The Iranians have been working on enriching uranium at various sites, some of them deep underground. And usually you make uranium at a low enrichment level that enables you to produce nuclear power in a power plant. But what the Iranians have done is enrich to just short of bomb grade. They've gone up to what the scientists call 60 percent enrichment.

The Iranians have been working on enriching uranium at various sites, some of them deep underground. And usually you make uranium at a low enrichment level that enables you to produce nuclear power in a power plant. But what the Iranians have done is enrich to just short of bomb grade. They've gone up to what the scientists call 60 percent enrichment.

And that's a very short leap, just days or weeks to the 90 percent you need to make a bomb.

And that's a very short leap, just days or weeks to the 90 percent you need to make a bomb.

That's right. Now, the fuel alone does not make a weapon. You then have to fabricate it, turn it into a metal, fit it into a warhead, design a triggering system, and so forth. And one of the concerns that Trump got in the intelligence that the Biden administration left for him was that the Iranians were racing ahead to a faster, cruder way to build a weapon.