Thursday’s CBS Evening News featured a preview of an upcoming interview on Sunday’s Face the Nation in which host Margaret Brennan — whom one could consider the network’s Karen and most meme-able personality — partnered with the head of the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog to paint a doom-and-gloom picture that, no matter what President Trump does with Iran, America will fail and lose due to Iran’s persistence to have nuclear weapons.
Brennan said Rafael Grossi — the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — “is here in Washington talking to White House officials about what happens after the bombing campaign ends” even though he’s insistent “it is impossible to destroy Iran’s extensive nuclear research programs through military force alone.”
WATCH: CBS’s Margaret Brennan — fresh off her tweet today expressing horror at @SecWar Hegseth asking Americans to pray to Jesus our Lord for the safety of U.S. soldiers — interviewed the UN nuclear watchdog to argue everything Trump has and will do with Iran will fail,… pic.twitter.com/5JTluuEUER
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 19, 2026
“As he put it, you cannot force Iranian scientists to unlearn what they have already learned,” she added before the interview clip.
At this point, why even try to go after the regime? In Brennan’s summation, their persistence is unrivaled and thus the President’s no match for them.
Then the clip played with the two asserting Iran will never surrender:
BRENNAN: This war will not destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
GROSSI: In any war. I would say any war —
BRENNAN: Any war.
GROSSI: — unless it was nuclear war and you go for destruction in an unfathomable —
BRENNAN: Yeah.
GROSSI: — way, which we hope, of course, will not never be the case.
BRENNAN: President Trump and Israel have talked about the potential of sending special forces in to secure some of this enriched material. How difficult would it be to move these cylinders that are there full of chemicals?
GROSSI: I’m not saying it’s impossible. I know that here there are incredible military capacities to do that, but it would be a better challenging operation.
In a not-so-shocking conclusion, Brennan’s prescription for Trump sounded an awful like the Obama regime’s nuclear deal and proof positive at least some in the liberal media want to see the President fail:
And Grossi said it would be difficult to handle those cylinders buried underground containing uranium gas, while we are in the middle of combat operations. But his bottom line, a lot of Iran’s program has survived. And Trump will eventually, he says, have to go back to the negotiating table to talk to Iran and whoever is running that country.
To see the relevant CBS transcript from March 20, click “expand.”
CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil
March 19, 2026
6:36 p.m. EasternTONY DOKOUPIL: President Trump has said Iran must never possess a nuclear weapon. And on that point, face-to-nation moderator and chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan spoke today with Rafael Grossi. He’s the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog. Margaret, good evening, what did he tell you?
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, Tony, the IAEA director is here in Washington talking to White House officials about what happens after the bombing campaign ends. He wants his weapons inspectors to secure the nuclear material that Iran has. But Grossi was very clear it is impossible to destroy Iran’s extensive nuclear research programs through military force alone. As he put it, you cannot force Iranian scientists to unlearn what they have already learned. [TO GROSSI] This war will not destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Securing Iran’s Nuclear Material]
RAFAEL GROSSI: In any war. I would say any war —
BRENNAN: Any war.
GROSSI: — unless it was nuclear war and you go for destruction in an unfathomable —
BRENNAN: Yeah.
GROSSI: — way, which we hope, of course, will not never be the case.
BRENNAN: President Trump and Israel have talked about the potential of sending special forces in to secure some of this enriched material. How difficult would it be to move these cylinders that are there full of chemicals?
GROSSI: I’m not saying it’s impossible. I know that here there are incredible military capacities to do that, but it would be a better challenging operation.
BRENNAN: And Grossi said it would be difficult to handle those cylinders buried underground containing uranium gas, while we are in the middle of combat operations. But his bottom line, a lot of Iran’s program has survived. And Trump will eventually, he says, have to go back to the negotiating table to talk to Iran and whoever is running that country.
DOKOUPIL: Margaret, thank you very much.
