The Pour Over Today - What You Need To Know About Iran’s Nuclear Program

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, this is Kathleen. And this is Catherine Ann. Welcome back to video version of TPO Explains. As you know, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, we summarize the headlines. But as we're writing about different topics, there is a zero percent chance that we're going to understand everything we're writing about. So on Saturdays, we take a shallow dive into one topic from the headlines to educate ourselves. And we bring you along with us in video again. We're really excited to be back on your screens. So, KAA is our writer who writes TPO explains each week. And we're kind of going to run through the article. And then I'm going to ask for a couple questions.

Starting point is 00:00:39 That's what we're going to do on Saturday. It's moving forward this Saturday, KAA. Let's tell the people what is our topic that we just really didn't understand this week. We are going to be breaking down Iran's nuclear program. Very exciting. Yeah. Exciting. Is the word you chose?

Starting point is 00:00:57 I was just kidding. I mean, every time we write about this, I'm like, I guess, like, I hear nuclear and think something. But I, yeah, I don't know. So this was good for us to look into. Yes. I mean, we've heard the buzz about the peace deal and kind of like the on and off again nature of it. So tell us a little bit more about that, how that plays into the nuclear program. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:01:23 Well, the deal was tied up around two things, the straight of hormone. and the Ron's nuclear program. And if you're anything like me, you probably thought that knowing anything about that program was above your clearance level. So we were hoping to give a little bit more context to this headline that's everywhere right now. Right. I hear it. And I'm like, yeah, that's just something that I shouldn't know about. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:01:48 Yeah, cool. We also did an explainer on the straight-upormuz. Is that how you say it? How did you say it? Strait of poor moves. Yeah. Okay, cool. and the Iranian regime.

Starting point is 00:01:59 So those episodes are from June 6th and March 7th, respectively. If you want to go back on those, we'll also link that in the show notes. So let's get into it. To start, KAA is just going to read the email that went out today. So follow along or listen up. Let's hear about Iran's nuclear program. We'll strap on your science hats. Because to understand Iran's not a new program.

Starting point is 00:02:22 You can just pretend. I was not going to buy one for the episode. to understand Iran's nuclear program, we have to start with uranium. So, uranium is a naturally occurring metallic element that can be mined and enriched, which just means made more concentrated. So at low levels, which is like 3 to 5%, it's used for fuel for power plants. And at high levels, which is greater than 90%, it's used to make nukes. Iran has been enriching its uranium up to 60%.

Starting point is 00:03:00 And arms experts have lost sleep over how close that's getting to the 90% weapons grade threshold. And we'll put up on the screen. We have a little graphic that shows just kind of the spectrum of uranium enrichment levels. And what, I mean, similar to what was the episode, crude oil where it's like at different levels. We use it for different things, a similar spectrum to that. But for me, I just didn't even really understand what enriched uranium meant. And so whenever you wrote, read, read. more concentrated. I'm like, oh, okay. All right. I have more context at least now to continue talking.

Starting point is 00:03:36 Okay, okay, give us some broad strokes. Yeah. So broadly speaking, Iran's nuclear program equals uranium enrichment facilities and resources. So, when did Iran start enriching uranium? Way back in the 50s, and it's all thanks to Uncle Sam. During the Cold War, the U.S. shared nuclear Intel and tech with its allies, including Iran, in a collective effort to, quote, help strip nuclear technologies, military casing, and adapt it to the arts of peace. And then after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, America's relationship with Iran collapsed, but Iran kept building its nuclear program. So then, fast forward, 20 years-ish. In 2002, secret nuclear facilities undisclosed by Iran were exposed The discovery triggered years of sanctions, followed by the Obama-era-Iran deal,

Starting point is 00:04:36 in which Iran said it would cap its enrichment and allow inspections in exchange for sanctions relief. And then President Trump 1.0 pulled the U.S. out of that deal, saying it was, quote, one-sided, and failed to protect U.S. security interests. And then today, Iran's nuclear program is 99% of the reason Trump 2.0 says he attacked Iran. on February 28th. And then on June 15th of this year, 2026, the two countries signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding, which is just a pre-peace deal.

Starting point is 00:05:13 Point number eight of that deal says Iran has agreed to never make or produce a nuclear weapon and that its existing uranium is to be handled in a, quote, mutually agreed upon way, which has not been agreed upon yet, I suppose. Sure. that's that's post pre peace deal yes okay so does iran have nukes no but they do have 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium up to 60% now that you know what that means and a history of non-compliance with the u.s nuclear watchdog iran has continually maintained that their program is peaceful but the international community is skeptical great so how much did you know know about this before you started writing the article?

Starting point is 00:06:02 Basically nothing about the nuclear program. Did you know how to pronounce nuclear before you started writing the article? I did. And I pulled the writer and asked them how they pronounced it. Because that is one of my pet peeves is when people say nuclear. Yes, we did have somebody. So before we were fortunate enough to have like our writers record our podcast. we had other people, like contractors record it, and there was one that did always pronounce

Starting point is 00:06:34 nuclear differently. Am I saying it right? Nuclear, yeah. Nuclear. I can't remember how they pronounced it, but every time we would get a people, a couple people write in, and they were like, they're not pronouncing the word right. It was their pet pee, too. So I'm happy to hear that we have somebody on staff now that can keep us on straight and narrow

Starting point is 00:06:54 when it comes to pronunciation. I'm your gal. Yeah. Okay, well, what did you learn that surprised you the most? I think that America was the one that jumped started Iran's nuclear program. I didn't know anything about that. And the Cold War, I didn't even know that we were allies with Iran. I guess I just assumed that we weren't and just never have been.

Starting point is 00:07:18 So that was interesting for me. Okay, so what about fun facts? Did you come across anything that, I mean, I know it's kind of a, it's a, tough topic. It can be a heavy topic, but as far as like things that made you go whenever you were writing this. I have to get into uranium, which is interesting. I didn't know anything about uranium. But I did learn it is 500 times more common than gold. Wow. Yeah. So there's a lot of it out there, which was interesting to me, I thought. Yeah. It was interesting. I guess I didn't really know what to even think whenever people would talk about uranium.

Starting point is 00:07:57 Like it just felt really like nebulous to me. I'm like, yeah. Sure. Okay. I don't know. So even to read that it's like a naturally occurring, you know, substance that then can be used in a lot of different ways from, you know, power plants to, you know, medical isotopes to, I think one of the categories of enrichment was like naval grades. So are we, what are we doing with, you know, fuel for nuclear submarines, which, of course, I've heard, but I don't know. I shouldn't, I hadn't put two and two together. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:08:33 So it's kind of interesting for me to see, like, the spectrum, which we'll link that in the show notes too, but it was included in the email today. Yeah. I think that's interesting. For sure. What about what Christian perspective did you choose for this article? Yeah. So it can be easy to fear war and violence, but believers are reminded of how good the news is of Jesus' coming kingdom. His spirit offers us supernatural peace in our hearts today, and his return promises peace in a renewed earth forever.

Starting point is 00:09:10 And I think Isaiah 65 versus 17 and 25 are helpful for us in this, and they say, for I will create new heavens and a new earth. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat strong. all like cattle, but the serpent's food will be dust. They will not do what is evil or destroy on my entire holy mountain, says the Lord. I think as we're tempted to be consumed by this fear and anxiety, it's good to keep our eyes fixed on these promises. Definitely. Because even us saying like, oh, I didn't know anything about this. I needed context. Like it would be so easy to start researching and then go down, you know, or at the hole of like, oh my gosh, this is what this is what this could mean

Starting point is 00:09:52 and the implications of this and all that kind of stuff. So definitely. Okay, well, thanks, K.A. Before we go, let's take a moment to pray a prayer for nuclear negotiations. You can follow along or close your eyes as we pray again. God, our Father, we bring our anxieties to you, the one who measures the firepower in all the world's secret storehouses, the one whose command snaps the forces of chaos to attention,

Starting point is 00:10:15 the one who numbers the moments of every creature. O Lord of hosts, defuse any weapons poise for destruction, and point our world toward peace. Thwart the plans of evil powers who are pushing against their neighbors flourishing, ruminating in hatred and undermining peace. Overpower and disarm them so they cannot harm the innocent. Give prudence to those who manage massive arsenals that they might defend with discernment and push forward the common good.

Starting point is 00:10:44 O Lord of hosts to fuse the weapons poised for destruction and point our world toward peace. Amen. If you want more guided prayers to help you bring current events to the Lord, you can check out TPO's new audio devotional, which we're very excited about, and join us in prayer on Monday for negotiations with Iran. So you can either text pray to 7199-9-9-8-9, or you can check the show notes. We'll see you guys next week. Bye. Is your view of Jesus shaped by culture or by scripture? The answer might surprise you.

Starting point is 00:11:28 In today's world, it's easy to turn Jesus into a life coach, a therapist, or a political ally. We don't want a disruptive savior, just a convenient one. In their book, The Missing Messiah, Kyle Eiddleman and Mark Moore will help you understand how the culture we live in has taught us to reshape Jesus into our own image, and we'll teach you how to stop treating him as an accessory and start following him as king. If you believe there's a more revolutionary, more majestic Messiah than the one you've always heard about, visit missingemessia.com to learn more.

The Pour Over Today - What You Need To Know About Iran’s Nuclear Program

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