Episode Notes:

On July 2, an explosion caused extensive damage at the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran. The Iranian government confirmed the incident a few days later, and acknowledged that it was a serious set back for the country’s work on advanced nuclear centrifuges. It’s unclear exactly who was behind the explosion, although reports suggest that Israel and/or the United States, who worked together to launch a cyber attack against the same facility over a decade ago, were likely involved.

Dr. Ariane Tabatabai — the Middle East fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, adjunct senior research scholar at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), and co-author of Triple-Axis: Iran's Relations with Russia and China — joins the Warcast to explain what is going on at Natanz, why it matters, and what to expect going forward.

Follow Ariane on Twitter: @ArianeTabatabai

[ 01:14 ] Damage at Natanz and implications for Iran’s nuclear program

[ 03:16 ] Importance of Natanz

[ 06:11 ] Origins of alleged attack

[ 09:19 ] Iran’s likely response