Assessing the Damage to Iran’s Nuclear Program

Assessing the Damage to Iran’s Nuclear Program

Author: Silverado Policy Accelerator June 24, 2025 Duration: 37:23
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear nonproliferation expert, to assess the damage that has been inflicted upon the Iranian nuclear program over the course of the past 11 days and potential for reconstitution. 00:00 Introduction 00:49 Assessment of Damage to Each Part of the Iranian Nuclear Program 07:34 What is the Level of Difficulty of Reconstitution? 09:53 Did Iran Evacuate Fordow? 11:55 The Importance of the 400kg of Highly Enriched Uranium issue 12:49 Where Is the New Secret Enrichment Facility? 13:58 What Are the Nonproliferation Lessons From This War? 16:26 Impact of the Assassinations of Nuclear Scientists 18:16 Capabilities of Iran's Ballistic Missiles 20:27 Origins of Iran's Nuclear Weapons Designs 22:46 Is There a Legitimate Need for Iran to Have Uranium Enrichment? 24:45 Was The War Worth It? 32:31 What Will Iran Do Next?

Hosted by Dmitri Alperovitch and presented by the Silverado Policy Accelerator, Geopolitics Decanted offers a deep and nuanced examination of the forces shaping our world. This isn't about quick headlines; it's a podcast dedicated to patient, detailed analysis and substantive conversations with leading experts. Each episode distills complex international issues, moving beyond superficial narratives to explore the underlying strategies, technologies, and economic instruments at play. You'll hear focused discussions on ongoing conflicts like the war in Ukraine, the multifaceted competition between major powers, and the evolving tools of statecraft, from economic sanctions and export controls to cybersecurity threats and the global race for semiconductor supremacy. Geopolitics Decanted is for those who feel that understanding global affairs requires more than sound bites-it demands context, historical perspective, and a willingness to engage with the granular details that truly define geopolitical shifts. Through these in-depth interviews and Alperovitch's own commentary, the podcast provides listeners with a clearer, more comprehensive framework for making sense of an increasingly interconnected and contested global landscape.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 79

Geopolitics Decanted with Dmitri Alperovitch
Podcast Episodes
Why Europe’s Dependence on the US Military Will Not Change [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:26
On the train ride to Kyiv, Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Franz Stefan Gady, one of the premier European military analysts, about why American military involvement in Europe is unlikely to be significantly reduced in the…
How Drones Are Changing the Nature of Warfare in Ukraine [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:28
On the train ride back to Poland from Kyiv, Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Andrey Liscovich (President of Ukraine Defense Fund, a charity that provides non-lethal aid to the Ukrainian military) about how various types of…
Mutiny in Russia: Who Won, Who Lost and What Caused It [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:29
In this edition of Geopolitics Decanted guest host Patrick Gray interviews Dmitri Alperovitch about Evgeny Prigozhin’s so-called "March for Justice". What was it all about? Did it fail or succeed? What does Putin’s react…
How AI Will Transform Future Militaries (And Societies) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:00
Dmitri Alperovitch discusses the evolution of AI with Teddy Collins (former Assistant Director for Technology Strategy at the White House, Research Scientist at Google’s DeepMind and co-author of "Teams of Teams" with Ge…
How China Plans to Win the Chip War [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:25
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Chris Miller, author of the recent New York Times bestseller Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology, about one of the central elements of the US-China confrontation: se…
How Ukraine Can Survive the Exhaustion of Its Air Defense Stocks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:07
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Justin Bronk (Senior Research Fellow for Airpower and Technology at RUSI and Professor at Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy) and Dara Massicot (Russian military analyst at RAND) about the di…
Why Taiwan’s Military Modernization Is Moving Too Slowly [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:47
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Vincent Chao, a Taiwanese politician and former diplomat and national security strategist, about why Taiwan is moving so slowly to modernize its military and increase deterrence of an existe…