John Kerry: ‘You cannot bomb away the memory of how to make a bomb'

The Hill

4 days ago

Former Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Monday of the challenge of permanently eliminating the threat of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, noting the institutional memory remains even if the facilities are destroyed.
'You cannot bomb away the memory of how to make a bomb. You can't bomb away the knowledge that they have developed,' Kerry said in an interview on CNN International's 'Amanpour.'
'You can't bomb away the broad array of technicians who've been working on this for years, who will go back to work if that's the mission they're given by the leadership of the country,' he continued.
'And one of the dangers here is that the more this goes on in a military way, the more power goes to the worst defenders within Iran, the IRGC. And that's not good for anybody,' Kerry said, using an acronym for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Kerry — who played a key role in brokering the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the Obama administration — reflected on his experience negotiating with Iran a decade ago and said, 'I do think people have to be realistic here in understanding what the choices are.'
'Iranians — Iran— is a proud, proud, proud nation,' he said. 'One of the things I learned in my negotiations was the level of pride was just enormous. They also have been committed to the destruction of Israel. That's a cultural, almost religious, component of their policy. And so it's very hard to say what exactly is going to bring them back to the table.'
The interview was conducted before President Trump announced the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Iran and Israel, which appears to remain in effect despite some early claims that each side violated the agreement.