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THREATS TO CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN IRAN CONFLICT

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Disentangling the five key questions on Iran’s nuclear program

Israel Defense Forces said June 21, 2025, that this video shows the result of its strikes on Iran's nuclear site at Isfahan. (IDF video)

By Mark F. Cancian and Chris H. Park

It’s an issue that won’t go away. Despite the U.S. raids on Iranian nuclear facilities being two weeks in the past, the controversy over their effect continues to be publicly debated. A leaked preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency assessment indicated that Iran’s nuclear program was set back by only several months, while President Trump claimed the facilities have been “obliterated.”

Much of this confusion arises from commentators answering different questions and the answers then being applied to the wrong question.

For example, the question of how long it will take to rebuild the Iranian nuclear program is different from the question of how long until Iran could have a nuclear weapon. A Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion disentangles the five key questions about the status of the Iranian nuclear program.

Read more at Center for Strategic and International Studies

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