Behind every nuclear crisis is a pattern of overlooked loopholes, ignored warnings, and political blind spots. From civilian cover stories to strategic exceptions, Henry Sokolski has spent four decades warning about the cracks in the global nonproliferation system.

In this episode of The Diplomat, Sokolski explains how enrichment and reprocessing became normalized under the guise of peaceful energy, and why those loopholes remain the greatest threat to nuclear restraint today. He challenges the double standards applied to Israel and Iran, dissects the illusions of deterrence in a multipolar world, and warns what it would really mean for the Middle East to go nuclear.

This episode doesn’t predict war… it warns of the quiet road that leads to it.

• Joe Kawly brings extensive experience from conflict zones in the Middle East to the power corridors of Washington. As a journalist, he’s seen how words can escalate a crisis or open the door to peace. A Georgetown graduate and former CNN Journalism Fellow, he’s known for connecting the dots others miss, so people don’t just hear what happened, they understand why it matters. As producer and host of The Diplomat, Joe brings clarity to diplomacy and politics, one conversation at a time.