Fox World reports: Nuclear weapons experts are raising the alarm bells over the pressing need for the Trump administration to codify in any new deal a ban on Iran’s attempts to use plutonium from its facilities to build an atomic bomb.The administration and non-proliferation experts have largely focused on the Islamic Republic’s atomic weapons facilities that use uranium as the material for building nuclear bombs. Tehran could take advantage of this blind spot and covertly build a plutonium-based nuclear weapon.Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital: "I do believe any proposed deal with Iran needs to address the plutonium pathway to nuclear weapons.
Israel struck the Arak heavy water reactor twice over the last year — in June 2025 and in March 2026. This can and should be done without bombing the plant."Sokolski wrote the "Pentagon should watch to make sure Iran does not remove any of the spent fuel at Bushehr. It could do this with space surveillance assets or, as it did in 2012, with drones.
Background
Second, any ‘peace’ deal President Trump cuts with Tehran should include a requirement that there be near-real-time monitoring of the Bushehr reactor and spent fuel pond, much as the IAEA had in place with Iran’s fuel enrichment activities."In another article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in April, Sokolski argued that Iran has enough plutonium for more than 200 nuclear bombs. He said, "The last time IAEA inspectors visited Bushehr was August 27, 2025. Even when agency inspectors had routine access to the plant, they only visited every 90 days — more than enough time to divert the spent fuel and possibly fashion it into nuclear weapons."He added that "President Obama did not insist on such surveillance even though the IAEA asked Iran to permit it.
Key facts
- Israel struck the Arak heavy water reactor twice over the last year — in June 2025 and in March 2026.
- This can and should be done without bombing the plant."Sokolski wrote the "Pentagon should watch to make sure Iran does not remove any of the spent fuel at Bushehr.
- It could do this with space surveillance assets or, as it did in 2012, with drones.
What this means
Tehran said no."Recent IAEA reports have not addressed the plutonium path to a bomb with any specificity.TRUMP CLAIMS IRAN 'STARVING FOR CASH,' 'COLLAPSING FINANCIALLY' AFTER EXTENDING CEASEFIREA State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that, "Iran’s nuclear program poses a threat to the United States and the entire world."The spokesperson continued, "Iran today stands in breach of its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations by failing to provide full cooperation with the IAEA. Iran’s leadership must engage in serious diplomatic negotiations with the United States to resolve the nuclear issue once and for all."David Albright, a physicist and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, told Fox News Digital that he is "Highly skeptical that Iran would use plutonium from Bushehr’s spent fuel to make nuclear weapons."The former weapons inspector, Albright, argued that, "One, Iran would need a design it has not developed.
There is nothing in the Nuclear Archive on a plutonium-based nuclear weapon. Two, a diversion from Bushehr would be detected and undoubtedly lead Russia to suspend enriched uranium supplies, leading to a shutdown of a multibillion-dollar investment that supplies the area with electricity. Third, almost all the plutonium in the spent fuel is reactor-grade, and it is feasible that none is weapon-grade."Albright added that "Reactor-grade plutonium can be used to make a nuclear weapon, but it is tricky to do so if a significant explosive yield is wanted." He added that Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton "has been raising this issue for decades, and it is a remote possibility.
Originally reported by Fox World. This story has been edited and re-presented by BRIC Team.
