Madam Secretary

A cyber attack is no longer a question of if, but when.

Mr. Al Nasri, what I'm offering you...

Salman, Salman, please.

You are tenacious, my friend.

I prefer to think of myself as passionate about my work.

I will make with you a bargain.

You will consult Al Nasri Financial

to strengthen our cyber defenses...

if you can tell me why I'm bringing

American fast casual dining to the Kingdom.

Because in five years,

single women will drive themselves to work,

and there will be more movie screens

in Jeddah than in Midtown Manhattan.

Because you see the new Saudi Arabia...

government transparency, education reform, trade.

Honestly, my daughter just loves their milkshakes.

But I like what you said.

Welcome to the new Saudi Arabia.

Hey, you're missing some primo huevos rancheros in here.

Brain food.

Eggs are brain food?

Too bad we don't have a National Merit Scholar

to ask about that.

- Please stop. - Wait.

Isn't our son a National Merit Scholar?

Well, wouldn't his school

have some kind of formal ceremony recognizing him

as a National Merit Scholar?

I did well on a standardized test.

I didn't sequence the human genome.

Oh, look, you're being celebrated

for all your hard work, and a $2,500 scholarship...

thank you... that is nothing to sneeze at.

So, get over here and feed

that National Merit Scholar brain.

Oh, look, it's your new best friend again.

The bombing four months ago that killed an American

and many others is yet another tragic consequence

of Secretary McCord and the Dalton administration

aiding and abetting those that would do us harm.

Are you implying that the Dalton administration

- is negotiating... - It's unbelievable.

We invited this guy into our home.

I like to think he remembers that night fondly sometimes

when he's sunning himself on a rock.

Well, look, Trevor,

who is Hezbollah's patron state? It's Iran.

Elizabeth McCord naively trooped off to Tehran

to negotiate a nuclear deal,

and she gave away our sanctions leverage.

She promised us peace, and look what we got.

And now she's back with the so-called.

"Phase Two" of the negotiations.

That's why I've introduced legislation

to undo this disastrous Phase One,

and to stop Phase Two in its tracks.

That guy has one of the most punchable faces

- of all time. - Well, yeah, but I mean,

he kind of has a point.

I mean, the bomb killed a lot of people,

and then the deal just let billions of dollars

flow into a hostile regime.

I mean, what do... what do we get in return?

- Here we go. - I'm just saying

it seems like Phase One left a lot of important issues unresolved.

Well, that's because it did.

By design.

Okay, so Morejon's not entirely wrong.

Iran was one month away

from having a viable nuclear weapon.

One month.

That would have posed an existential threat

to Israel, Europe and, ultimately, the United States.

And the scale of the war that it would've

taken to prevent that...

Well, let's just say instead of college,

right now, you might well be thinking about the draft.

That's what we got in return.

So, you're welcome.

The fact that these talks are happening at all,

kind of history-making.

We'll see.

What, you think they might not work?

Iran is still prevented from being fully integrated

into the global banking system,

stifling our economy and costing billions

of dollars a year.

This must be addressed first and foremost.

And it could be, Minister Esfahani,

if Iran is willing to facilitate a lasting cease-fire in Yemen.

- These people have had... - It is your Saudi friends

who are pulling the strings in the ongoing Yemeni conflict.

The shipload of anti-aircraft missiles

in the Gulf of Aden,

and the 200 pounds of C-4

intercepted by the Bahrani authorities?

We all know your Quds Forces directed those shipments.

Minister, arming the rebels in Yemen can only lead

to more violence.

If you want to de-escalate

the situation in Yemen,

then a public statement from Saudi Arabia

pledging to do just that

would be viewed favorably in Tehran.

Well, Minister, the United States insists

that Iran first respect the sovereignty

of its neighbors.

I'm afraid the United States lacks the credibility

to lecture anyone

on honoring a nation's sovereignty.

Ask our neighbors, the Iraqis.

Bess, we're thinking of punting the Phase Two talks

until after the midterms.

Sir, we need to press on.

Morejon, he-he's just grandstanding.

Well, to hear the talking heads on cable news

tell it, we've got Iranian extremists

implicated in the murder of an American citizen

while you're airlifting billion-dollar gift baskets

into Tehran.

Our allies in Congress were skittish to begin with.

This doesn't help. I'm already booked on Trevor Vance's show

to get our side out there.

Meanwhile, the Saudis... you remember,

our allies, the Saudis...

are all spun up over this arms deal you're slow-rolling

to placate Iran.

The Saudis will get

- their precision-guided missiles. - When?

Give me three more months.

I'll tell them that-that the deal is hung up

with our lawyers

at the Political-Military Affairs

and the folks at DSCA.

Which is actually semi-true.

But besides, they will get greater security

if we are able to pull off

- the Phase Two talks. - Yeah, well, something tells me

they won't see it that way.

Morejon certainly won't.

He's close to wrangling enough votes

to scuttle any deal we make.

Backing off till after the midterms...

gives us room to maneuver.

If we postpone the talks, Iran will walk.

And if they do, it all but guarantees

they'll continue funding our enemies.

- And how are the talks going? - Slowly,

sir.

We are negotiating with a long-time adversary, Russell,

not microwaving soup... it takes time.

Which I hope I'm making clear is not on our side.

What might speed up the process?

Okay, my team has flagged an inducement

that we think could grab the Iranians enough

to force some real concessions.

Access to SWIFT interbank communications network.

You want to just let them back

into the international banking system?

They are desperate

to bring their economy in from the cold.

So this could allow us to demand serious concessions

in exchange.

All right, Bess, but you're on the clock here.

- Yes. - Longer this drags out,

the better chance these talks get

pulled down around our ears.

Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. President, Russell.

Yeah.

So, I hear you've pared back

some of your off-campus activities.

More time for my students.

Well, that is good news.

Because one of your proposals has gained some traction

with the board.

Oh, yeah? Which proposal is that?

Some additional funding has made launching

a military ethics department

a viable option.

Well, that is great news. I think it'll be

an invaluable asset to our program.

"Today's battle space ranges from cyberspace

"to outer space.

"It is vital to give tomorrow's commanders

"the ethical tools they need

to make sound decisions in a rapidly changing world."

That was some memo you wrote.

Two years ago.

Academia.

Worse, government-funded academia.

We'll need an interim chair.

You're at the top of our list.

Oh, I'm flattered you would think of me, General,

but I really am looking forward

to getting back to teaching full time.

Oh, I just assumed

since it was your idea, you'd want to lead the charge.

A perfectly logical assumption. Nevertheless, I...

Give me a couple of days to think about it.