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As the international perspective of the world has focused primarily on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, many have neglected to address the actual root cause of this war: The Islamic Republic of Iran.

We know that Iran lacks the courage to directly engage itself in any conflict. Instead, it uses its many terror proxies, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Al Quds Force, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, among others.

Beyond that, a recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued February 26th, states that Iran has been in noncompliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) as well as with the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, meaning that the Iranians are failing to fully account for their nuclear activities, in both the past and the present. 

In an interview with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi two weeks ago, he described the situation with Iran and its failure to live up to the NPT “immensely concerning.” Iran has barred at least one third of IAEA inspectors from visiting suspicious nuclear sites since last fall.

On February 12, 2024, Ali-Akbar Salehi, the former head of Iran’s nuclear agency, has implied in his remarks that Iran has everything it needs for an atomic bomb. In a televised interview, Salehi, who was also previously foreign minister (2010-2013), was asked if Iran has achieved the capability of developing a nuclear bomb. Avoiding a direct answer the senior regime insider stated, “We have [crossed] all the thresholds of nuclear science and technology. Here’s an example: Imagine what a car needs; it needs a chassis, an engine, a steering wheel, a gearbox. You’re asking if we’ve made the gearbox, I say yes. Have we made the engine? Yes, but each one serves its own purpose.” 

How is the international community responding to this looming threat of an Iranian nuclear bomb? With the implementation of the JCPOA, has the international community failed to address Iranian sanctions, and are we simply just allowing them to sunset? Are we merely addressing the symptoms of this problem and not the disease?  

We are profoundly honored to have with us today a Great American, Ambassador John Bolton.

About the Speaker: Ambassador Bolton served as the National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump, and from 2005 to 2006 Mr. Bolton served as the US Ambassador to the United Nations. Mr. Bolton has served in the administrations of President Ronald Reagan, President George H. W. Bush, and President George W. Bush. Ambassador Bolton is an attorney, who was in private practice in Washington, D.C. from 1974 to 2018, except for when he served in government. Mr. Bolton is the author of three books, “Surrender is Not an Option,” “How Barack Obama is Endangering Our National Security,” and “The Room Where it Happened.” He has been widely published in The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Washington Times, and The Washington Examiner, among other publications, and frequently appears on Fox and CNN. Mr. Bolton received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Yale College and his J.D. from Yale Law School.