Sen. Chris Coons: ‘No,’ Trump Did Not Eliminate Iran’s Capability to Develop a Nuclear Bomb

EXCERPT:

BLITZER: “But did the U.S. under President Trump effectively eliminate Iran's capability of developing, building a nuclear bomb?”
COONS: “No. And, to be clear, under President Obama, there was an Iran nuclear deal that had searching on-the-ground inspections by the IAEA, a U.N. group that does nuclear inspections, and we had real visibility into their program. They both pledged to give up any effort to develop a nuclear bomb and downblended all of their highly enriched uranium and closed off -- they filled it with concrete -- a potential plutonium reactor. Where we are today under President Trump, is yes, last summer, he carried out a military action that bombed several of their main sites. They were not close to having a usable deliverable nuclear weapon at that point, and they are certainly farther away now. But we don't have a clear, detailed understanding of the status of their centrifuges, the status of that highly enriched uranium, or a clear path towards resolving it, other than going back to the negotiating table with Iran.”