Nuclear weapons experts are raising the alarm bells over the pressing need for the Trump administration to codify in any new deal a ban on Iran’s attempts to use plutonium from its facilities to build an atomic bomb.

The administration and non-proliferation experts have largely focused on the Islamic Republic’s atomic weapons facilities that use uranium as the material for building nuclear bombs. Tehran could take advantage of this blind spot and covertly build a plutonium-based nuclear weapon.

Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital: «I do believe any proposed deal with Iran needs to address the plutonium pathway to nuclear weapons. Israel struck the Arak heavy water reactor twice over the last year — in June 2025 and in March 2026. Intelligence suggested Iran had repeatedly attempted to reconstruct the facility even after the bombing, so any deal with Iran should cover the plutonium pathway.»

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Iran’s regime could use plutonium from spent fuel at its nuclear reactor at Bushehr to build an atomic weapons device, according to Henry Sokolski, the executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center and former deputy for nonproliferation policy in the Department of Defense (1989–1993).

Writing last month on the website of Real Clear Defense, he noted «Washington should make sure that Iran doesn’t remove Bushehr’s spent fuel and strip out the plutonium. This can and should be done without bombing the plant.»

Sokolski wrote the «Pentagon should watch to make sure Iran does not remove any of the spent fuel at Bushehr. It could do this with space surveillance assets or, as it did in 2012, with drones. Second, any ‘peace’ deal President Trump cuts with Tehran should include a requirement that there be near-real-time monitoring of the Bushehr reactor and spent fuel pond, much as the IAEA had in place with Iran’s fuel enrichment activities.»

A satellite image the Heavy water plant of Arak, Iran is displayed. According to reports, the existence of this plant came to light in December 2002. Heavy water moderates nuclear fission chain reaction and can produce plutonium for use in a nuclear bomb.  (DigitalGlobe via Getty Images)

In another article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in April, Sokolski argued that Iran has enough plutonium for more than 200 nuclear bombs. He said, «The last time IAEA inspectors visited Bushehr was August 27, 2025. Even when agency inspectors had routine access to the plant, they only visited every 90 days —  more than enough time to divert the spent fuel and possibly fashion it into nuclear weapons.»

He added that «President Obama did not insist on such surveillance even though the IAEA asked Iran to permit it. Tehran said no.»

Recent IAEA reports have not addressed the plutonium path to a bomb with any specificity.

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visits nuclear facilities in Tehran, Iran on Nov. 1, 2025.  (Iranian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that, «Iran’s nuclear program poses a threat to the United States and the entire world.»

The spokesperson continued, «Iran today stands in breach of its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations by failing to provide full cooperation with the IAEA. Iran’s leadership must engage in serious diplomatic negotiations with the United States to resolve the nuclear issue once and for all.»

David Albright, a physicist and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, told Fox News Digital that he is «Highly skeptical that Iran would use plutonium from Bushehr’s spent fuel to make nuclear weapons.»

Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran, on April 29, 2024. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The former weapons inspector, Albright, argued that, «One, Iran would need a design it has not developed. There is nothing in the Nuclear Archive on a plutonium-based nuclear weapon. Two, a diversion from Bushehr would be detected and undoubtedly lead Russia to suspend enriched uranium supplies, leading to a shutdown of a multibillion-dollar investment that supplies the area with electricity. Third, almost all the plutonium in the spent fuel is reactor-grade, and it is feasible that none is weapon-grade.»

Albright added that «Reactor-grade plutonium can be used to make a nuclear weapon, but it is tricky to do so if a significant explosive yield is wanted.» He added that Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton «has been raising this issue for decades, and it is a remote possibility. It was rejected first in the Bush administration.»

Concerns persist about Iran’s devious behavior and its aim to build a nuclear weapon at all costs. As a result, there are calls to outlaw Iran’s plutonium reprocessing and impose rigorous surveillance on Iran’s plutonium infrastructure in a future deal with the U.S.

Andrea Stricker, the deputy director of The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program, told Fox News Digital. «The United States must insist on a permanent and verified ban on plutonium reprocessing in Iran under any deal.»

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An IDF infographic shows Iran’s Arak heavy water plant, described as a key infrastructure for plutonium production. (IDF)

Stricker noted that Moscow had realized the danger too. «To Russia’s rare credit, it insisted Iran let inspectors back in to safeguard the Bushehr reactor after the June 2025 strikes. Those inspections resumed last August. Plutonium produced at the reactor is not of desirable quality for nuclear weapons, and Iran has not focused on the plutonium route to nuclear weapons since the early 2000s, so it could be difficult for Tehran to work with. They would also need to illicitly acquire and outfit a plutonium reprocessing plant as well as sophisticated equipment to handle and chemically convert the fuel. All of this creates significant obstacles to its use as fuel for nuclear weapons.»

She continued that «The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) could mitigate any proliferation risk at Bushehr by increasing the frequency of inspections to monthly. Russia could also remove the spent fuel that has accumulated at the site.»

En Honduras, donde miles de adolescentes enfrentan riesgos de deserción escolar, violencia y falta de oportunidades, el programa Teens Ready, conocido también como Educación “Súper Pilas”, surge como una apuesta para transformar la vida de los jóvenes a través de formación integral y herramientas prácticas para enfrentar la vida adulta.

La iniciativa, impulsada por World Vision Honduras en conjunto con la Secretaría de Educación, fue lanzada oficialmente que busca beneficiar a 25 mil adolescentes de entre 12 y 17 años en los 18 departamentos del país.

A diferencia de un programa académico tradicional, la propuesta tiene como objetivo acompañar a los jóvenes en áreas que muchas veces quedan fuera del aula: manejo emocional, emprendimiento, ciudadanía, autoestima y preparación para el futuro.

El coordinador del proyecto RISE, Gerson Raudales, indicó que el modelo fue diseñado especialmente para adolescentes que atraviesan etapas vulnerables y que requieren fortalecer habilidades personales y sociales. De acuerdo con su explicación, el programa trabaja cuatro dimensiones principales: salud y bienestar, cultura emprendedora, ciudadanía activa y transformación personal.

“El programa Teens Ready es multidimensional y progresivo. Busca desarrollar habilidades en adolescentes de 12 a 17 años para prepararlos ante situaciones complejas de la vida adulta”, expresó Raudales.

La metodología integra dinámicas prácticas y herramientas emocionales adaptadas a la realidad de los jóvenes hondureños. Una de ellas es el conocido semáforo de las emociones, una técnica que ayuda a los estudiantes a reconocer su estado emocional, identificar situaciones de riesgo y aprender mecanismos para manejar sus emociones de manera saludable, evitando así la deserción escolar.

Para la especialista en educación de World Vision Honduras, Ynéz Martínez, “la permanencia escolar depende en gran medida de que los estudiantes encuentren espacios educativos atractivos y útiles para su vida cotidiana”. Martínez sostiene que muchos jóvenes abandonan el sistema educativo porque no se sienten motivados o perciben que las clases no responden a sus necesidades reales.

Por ello, el programa implementa metodologías participativas en las que los adolescentes no asisten por obligación, sino por motivación propia y con deseos de aprender y desarrollarse.

“El objetivo es que los niños permanezcan y no salgan del sistema educativo”, puntualizó la especialista, quien también resaltó que la iniciativa busca que los mismos jóvenes motiven a otros compañeros a continuar estudiando.

La intención es que los adolescentes no solo mejoren su desempeño académico, sino que también adquieran herramientas concretas para enfrentar retos cotidianos, acceder a oportunidades laborales o emprender proyectos propios en el futuro.

Entre los puntos resaltados por los impulsores, figura el hecho de que el modelo nació en Honduras y actualmente empieza a expandirse a otros países de Centroamérica. Según Raudales, esta metodología ya se replica en Guatemala y El Salvador, haciendo de Honduras un referente regional en programas de formación juvenil.

“Estamos siendo como el país bandera”, destacó el coordinador, quien subrayó que la experiencia hondureña ha demostrado resultados positivos en el fortalecimiento de adolescentes.

Para las autoridades y organizaciones involucradas, esto representa un reconocimiento al trabajo educativo en el país, así como una oportunidad para mostrar que Honduras puede liderar iniciativas innovadoras dirigidas a la juventud.

La expansión de Teens Ready incorpora un componente preventivo ante problemáticas que afectan a miles de adolescentes hondureños, como la violencia, la exclusión social y la falta de oportunidades. Una de las metas para este año es certificar a más docentes y fortalecer una red educativa capaz de brindar acompañamiento integral a estudiantes en contextos vulnerables.

Con alcance proyectado en los 18 departamentos del país, Teens Ready busca demostrar que invertir en habilidades emocionales, sociales y vocacionales puede marcar la diferencia en la vida de miles de adolescentes hondureños que hoy buscan oportunidades para construir un mejor futuro.

President Donald Trump downplayed reports that he was getting ready to fire Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary while speaking to reporters Friday.

«I’ve been reading about it, but I know nothing about it,» Trump said in response to a question about Makary’s potential firing. When asked what’s going on with Makary, Trump responded «nothing much.»

Initial buzz about a possible Makary ouster started circulating when The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Trump had pressured Makary to fast track approval for flavored nicotine vapes.

Makary, according to WSJ, pushed back on the request, drawing Trump’s ire.

The friction pushed Trump to sign off on a plan to fire Makary, WSJ reported Friday.

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Trump did not confirm the WSJ reporting, instead telling reporters «no, no» when asked if he was bringing in a new FDA head.

Makary has been embroiled in a number of controversies since being confirmed as the FDA head in March 2025.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary speaks during a press conference with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 29, 2025, discussing administration’s plans to lower drug costs. (Annabelle Gordon/REUTERS)

Pro-life activists have accused the former oncology surgeon of slow-walking a safety review for abortion pill mifepristone.

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«This is a five-alarm crisis for the pro-life movement and for the GOP,» SBA Pro-Life America president Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement calling for Makary’s firing.

«The GOP cannot win without its base and simply will not get the enthusiasm that drives turnout without leadership from the top,» she wrote.

Pharmaceutical and biotech firms have also opposed Makary. John Crowley, the head of the biotech trade group, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), condemned some of Makary’s personnel cuts in a recent op-ed.

«Some of the administration’s recent efforts to reform the federal government through aggressive and often indiscriminate personnel cuts have lacked the strategic insights necessary to modernize and reform our nation’s health care agencies, especially the FDA,» Crowley wrote.

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But others, particularly those in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) camp, have come to Makary’s defense, arguing calls for his firing are corporate-funded attacks.

«Dr. Makary is an ally in the MAHA movement,» Kelly Ryerson, an author and popular advocate also known as Glyphosate Girl, told Fox News Digital.

Food activist Vani Hari attends the Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 29, 2025. (Ben Curtis/AP)

«It is not surprising that his uncaptured approach to protecting human health has been met with the swamp calling for his firing,» she continued.

«The criticism is that he didn’t approve flavored vapes quickly enough. The mothers who don’t want their kids smoking find that reasoning alarming,» Ryerson concluded.

«The attacks against FDA Commissioner Marty Makary are coming from Big Pharma and the media outlets financially dependent on pharmaceutical advertising for survival,» Turning Point USA-affiliated podcaster Alex Clark wrote in a Friday post on X.

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«Washington SWAMP CREATURES hate Makary because he brings actual scientific scrutiny, independent thinking, and puts Americans’ health FIRST. President Trump has consistently said he wants to Make America Healthy Again. Replacing Makary with a pharma puppet would move us backward, not forward. DO NOT FIRE MAKARY. He is one of the strongest representatives of the MAHA movement inside the federal government. SCREW OFF BIG PHARMA,» Clark wrote.

Vani Hari, a popular food blogger and prominent media figure among the MAHA movement, also wrote that a Makary ouster «would be a horrible move.»

Fox News Digital contacted the White House, HHS, the FDA, BIO and SBA Pro-Life America for additional comment.