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Iran's Ambassador Reject Abandoning Uranium Enrichment; Iran Could Start Enrichment Within Months; Idaho Ambush Suspect Found Dead; Remembering Sarah Milgrim. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired June 30, 2025 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Iran's ambassador to the United Nations is rejecting calls for his country to abandon its uranium enrichment program in a new interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMIR-SAEID IRAVANI, IRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: The enrichment is our right and in -- an enable right, and we want to implement this right. I think that enrichment will not -- never stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: He says, we'll never stop that enrichment, that's what he says. Those comments come as the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog says he expects Iran could resume enriching uranium, quote, "within months." Despite the U.S. dropping more than a dozen so-called bunker buster bombs on Iran's key nuclear sites nine days ago, including the Fordow facility where new images in into CNN show there is work taking place at the site right now.
With us now Kirsten Fontenrose, the former senior director for the Gulf at the National Security Council, along with Brett McGurk, he's a CNN Global Affairs Analyst, and the former Middle East and North Africa coordinator at the National Security Council.
Kirsten, let me start with you. What's your assessment of how quickly Iran potentially could be backed in enriching uranium?
KIRSTEN FONTENROSE, FORMER SENIOR DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL AND SENIOR FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: The IAEA executive director is saying it's within months, but that is debated by the U.S. Intelligence Community. The CIA director told Congress last Friday, he thinks that many of the facilities have been completely dismantled.
Remember, we are also hearing from places like scientific seismologists who are saying that the shock waves from the strikes would've taken out much more than even the bombs would have. So, when we think about dropping a bunker buster, we think about its impact, but it's more than that. It's also what happens once that bomb hits underground and reacts with the Earth around it. So, we expect that most of the centrifuges are eliminated. And if you restarted the program, what does that mean? Is that enrichment? Is that a production facility for rotors? Is that fuel, you know, check -- what are you talking about? So, yes, they could potentially start something if they were trying to send a signal, but how long would it be before they could make a bomb? Much, much longer. Dirty bomb, shorter timeline. Warhead, much longer timeline. It takes multiple facilities and many pieces of the process.
But we are assessing right now that the discussion is about whether or not you can talk them out of the intent to restart anyway. Can you give them a civilian program at that same site and then they don't need to enrich for a bomb at all? Can they even afford to enrich even if they had remnants of the material to start with? There's so many questions when instead of just looking at whether or not they have some seed material, look at, do they have the scientists? Do they have the funding? Do they have the intent?
BLITZER: And do they have the guts to do it? Because they know if the Israelis or the U.S. found out about it, they would immediately launch retaliatory --
FONTENROSE: Immediately.
BLITZER: -- strikes. Yes. So, they have to have the guts to do that as well. Brett, let me get your reaction to what the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency said about Iran's ability to enrich uranium after those U.S. and Israeli attacks. Watch this and listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: Some could have been destroyed as part of the attack, but some could have been moved. So, there has to be, at some point, a clarification. If we don't get that clarification.
[10:35:00]
If we don't get that clarification, this will continue to be hanging, you know, over our heads.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Can the world get that clarification, Brett, unless inspectors are let back into Iran?
BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST AND FORMER MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA COORDINATOR, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: I think, Wolf, let's step back. First of all, what I think the Israelis demonstrated in this operation, they have complete intel dominance over Iran. They know where stuff is.
About 20,000 centrifuges have been destroyed at Natanz and Fordow. All the centrifuges, Natanz, Fordow, as Kirsten just said, are no longer operable. Does Iran have a stash of centrifuges somewhere else? Maybe. Probably not. Centrifuge production facilities are destroyed. So, there's a lot of coulds in Rafael's assessment. I know him pretty well. A lot of coulds, a lot of assumptions.
Look, Iran has been set back significantly. Ambassador Iravani, which you just showed, he's acting as if the world has not changed with what just happened. Their nuclear program is set back, some might say months, that's based on a number of assumptions, that Iran cobbles together the pieces and parts that's left of the program and decides to now move with speed and dispatch, I think we would see that. We'd be able to stop it. So, let's just kind of wait and see.
There were predictions before this happened when I was on the set about two weeks ago. Uncontrollable war in the Middle East, hundreds of American casualties if we entered. None of that happened. I think all of the assumptions that are going on now for what might happen to the program, we just have to take the time, let the intel professionals do their work. They'll come up with a comprehensive assessment.
But even then, that'll be based on a number of assumptions. What's Iran prepared to do after this setback? Would we see it? Would we be able to stop it? What will -- how will the diplomacy go? So, I think we all have to approach this little humility. This is a successful operation overall. I think Iran is in deep trouble. And I think the idea they're going to now lurch towards moving ahead with their nuclear program, I really think that is implausible. And if they do, we'll see it. And I think we'll have measures to stop it.
And you know the Europeans here, interestingly, the Brits and the French are saying they are prepared to snap back all international sanctions by the end of this summer if Iran does what Ambassador Iravani just said. So, there's a lot of tools here in the diplomatic playbook. There's a lot of intelligence going on. And right now, I think this is going fairly well and we have to see.
BLITZER: Yes, you've got an important article that I read that has your assessment of what potentially could be unfolding right now and we'll continue to watch it very closely together with you. Brett, thanks very much.
MCGURK: Thank you.
BLITZER: Kirsten, thanks to you as well. Pamela.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Still ahead right here in the Situation Room, racing to preserve a crime scene. How an encroaching wildfire is impacting the investigation into a deadly ambush in Idaho. We're going to talk to a retired FBI special agent up next.
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[10:40:00]
BROWN: Well, let's get back to one of our top stories this morning. Investigators in Idaho are looking for a motive after a suspect ambushed firefighters, killing two of them. A third is in the hospital in stable condition. Police say they were lured by a deliberately set brush fire that's still burning. The suspect was found dead hours later with a gun nearby.
BLITZER: Steve Moore is with us right now. He is a former supervisory special agent with the FBI and a CNN law enforcement contributor, Steve, this is a very unusual situation. Have you ever seen anything like this before where someone allegedly starts a fire, firefighters come, and then this individual allegedly starts shooting at those firefighters?
STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR AND REFIRED SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT, FBI: Well, you know, I actually did work a case back in -- well, 20 years ago where there was a man who was bent on destroying an oil refinery. And his plan was to start a fire at the oil refinery and shoot firefighters as they came in. But his plan was so that the fire could go out of control. This guy's different. This guy's situation is different because what he's trying to do is simply kill the firefighters. The fire itself was a lure, not the end goal.
BROWN: Tell us more about how the investigation proceeds from here given all the circumstances at play.
MOORE: Well, you know, what's interesting to me is yesterday they said between 3:15 and say 7:45, right around there, they knew that that phone was up there and they knew that it wasn't moving. So, they knew they had a pretty specific target there. And during that time, four and a half hours, they already knew the number of the phone obviously, and they did a lot of investigation in that four and a half hours, which helped them to determine before they even got to the body, whether there was going to be accomplices, a potential motive, things like that. So, they knew a lot about the person they were looking for before they even found him.
BROWN: Yes. Just so disturbing.
BLITZER: Very disturbing.
BROWN: You know -- I mean, why would you go after firefighters -- and it's just all of it. It is just unbelievably disturbing. And even if they do figure out a motive, it will never make sense. Steve Moore, thank you so much.
MOORE: Exactly.
BLITZER: And coming up, it's the call no parent ever wants to get.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: When you get a call from the Israeli ambassador to the United States and informs you that your loving daughter has been shot and killed.
ROBERT MILGRIM, SARAH MILGRIM'S FATHER: Just total shock. You know, we were literally shaking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:45:00] BLITZER: Two young lives taken in an instant outside the Capitol Jewish Museum here in Washington. And I'll speak to the father of Sarah Milgram on his daughter's work, the rise in antisemitism, and how he wants her to be remembered. The Situation Room special report is coming up next.
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BLITZER: And now, for a Situation Room Special Report. It's been just over one month since the lives of Sarah Milgrim and her boyfriend, Yaron Lischinsky, were tragically cut short. The soon-to-be engaged couple was fatally shot by a gunman as they left the Capitol Jewish Museum right here in Washington, D.C. Sarah was just 26-years-old.
Now, as her family grapples with the unimaginable, I had a chance to speak with Sarah's father about her life, her legacy, and how she helped him see the good in the world.
[10:50:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERT MILGRIM, SARAH MILGRIM'S FATHER: I had already tried calling Sarah on her phone, of course there was no answer and texted her, there was no answer. My wife had the presence of mind to do find my phone, you know, where you find the location of Sarah's phone, and it showed the precise location of the Capitol Jewish Museum.
Momentarily after, the ambassador called us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ask God's blessing on Yaron and Sarah and their families. Thank you.
BLITZER (voice-over): In the prime of their lives, this young couple worked and fell in love at the Israeli embassy in Washington. D.C.
MILGRIM: Sarah started working for the embassy the first week of November after October 7, 2023.
BLITZER: What was going through your mind when you get a call from the Israeli ambassador to the United States and informs you that your loving daughter has been shot and killed?
MILGRIM: Just total shock. You know, we were literally shaking. Soon after breaking the bad news, he told us that Yaron had, the week before, purchased an engagement ring.
BLITZER: So, the ambassador told you that they were going to get engaged in Israel?
MILGRIM: Right. That Yaron was going to give her the ring.
BLITZER: He wanted to do it in Jerusalem?
MILGRIM: In Jerusalem, correct.
BLITZER (voice-over): Devoted to diplomacy and peace in Israel, Sarah and Yarone had just concluded a meeting about getting aid into Gaza.
BLITZER: She was actively involved in various projects to bring people closer together.
MILGRIM: Oh, very much so. She worked for an organization called Tech2Peace. And what that organization did was bring young Palestinians that had never met Israelis and young Israelis that had not met Palestinians together. Some of her closest friends were Palestinians. So, she'd go into the West Bank on her own.
BLITZER (voice-over): But these connections didn't shield Sarah or Yaron from hate.
MILGRIM: She experienced antisemitism. Some of it was directed to the Jewish people, as a group, and some of what was directed to her personally.
BLITZER: The antisemitism she experienced, presumably, correct me if I'm wrong, pushed her towards a new love of Israel.
MILGRIM: She was in love with Israel from the time of her bat mitzvah. Just something clicked.
BLITZER (voice-over): Bob and his wife Nancy visited Sarah often, forging a close relationship with Yaron as well.
MILGRIM: Yaron wanted to be an Israeli diplomat. They had a special relationship. And after we got over the hurdles of the parent meeting with the boyfriend, we became -- we saw Yaron every time we came to Washington, D.C. Yaron came to our house. We did all the usual Kansas City things and, you know, going out for barbecue. And --
BLITZER: What will you remember most about Sarah?
MILGRIM: Who she is and what she stood for. She did erything. She did all sports. She was theatrical. She sang. She was a beekeeper. She was very into the environment. She would bring stray dogs home. She was a vegetarian.
BLITZER: Because she didn't want to kill animals?
MILGRIM: You're right. She didn't want to kill. She loved all animals.
BLITZER (voice-over): And this affection for animals lives on through her beloved dog, Andy.
MILGRIM: Andy loved Yaron as much as he loved Sarah.
BLITZER: Andy, her sweet little dog. What happened to Andy?
MILGRIM: So, the FBI agent said, we'll take care of it. Don't worry. Nancy said to the FBI agent, Andy does not fly cargo. He has to fly in the passenger compartment. Two FBI agents went to the Israeli embassy, picked up Andy. They took Andy straight to the very first plane that was going to Kansas City. BLITZER (voice-over): Andy now brings comfort to Bob and Nancy, who recently made a trip to D.C. to pack up Sarah's belongings.
MILGRIM: We were the first people to go into her apartments since the murder. It was just like -- it was like a freeze frame in time. You know, the cup of coffee half-drunk was on the counter. There was a little bit of coffee left in a coffee pot. And all of her plants were dead. It was one of the hardest -- one of the most difficult days of my life.
BLITZER (voice-over): This close-knit family of four now forever changed.
MILGRIM: We have our son who we're very close to and the three of us, Nancy, Jacob, and I will do our best.
BLITZER: What would you like her legacy to be?
MILGRIM: I want people to remember her. And remember what she did. And remember that she didn't hate anybody. She didn't hate Palestinians. She loved them all. Yet many people hated her for being Jewish.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[10:55:00]
BLITZER (on camera): The Anti-Defamation League reports antisemitic incidents are on the rise here in the United States. A new audit from the organization found more than 9,000 cases of assault, harassment, and vandalism last year alone. That's the highest since they began tracking these incidents back in 1979. And that's a 344 percent surge over just the past five years. Heartbreaking indeed to hear his story.
BROWN: Oh, my heart just sank when he was talking about going into her apartment.
BLITZER: Yes.
BROWN: To clean it out and it was untouched and the half-drunk coffee. And, you know, she was just, had so much life ahead of her and she was going to do so much good.
BLITZER: Right.
BROWN: It was clear she already had, in her young life, made such a positive impact on this world. And to think that he found out after her death that Yaron had brought a ring and was going to --
BLITZER: He was going to get -- he was going to ask her to get married. They were both going to go to Israel, to Jerusalem, and he was going to propose there and he had a ring ready to go that he had bought here in Washington. The ambassador -- the Israeli ambassador, knew about it and shared that with Bob in the course of telling him that his daughter was dead. BROWN: It's just -- it's, you know, every parent's worst nightmare. I know you have a piece online as well. I recommend everyone read that piece. And it starts with the anecdote that he was on a walk with his wife before her death, talking about, you know, we have two beautiful kids. We are so lucky. Everything is so perfect.
BLITZER: Yes.
BROWN: And as a parent, I've -- I have had those thoughts. Wow. I've got these three beautiful kids and it is your worst fear that, you know, you're like -- that's going to change. That somehow that's going to change. And it did for this family. And it's just -- it's unbelievably heartbreaking. But I'm so glad that you're shining a spotlight and talking about it.
BLITZER: It was so heartbreaking to hear Bob just share his thoughts about his beautiful young daughter. It was just --
BROWN: Important story to tell.
BLITZER: -- heartbreaking.
BROWN: Keep her memory alive.
BLITZER: And it's important that we say these words, may their memories be a blessing. And we'll be right back.
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