February 1, 2026 | The Wall Street Journal
The Nuclear Threat After Tehran Falls
In the event of regime change, the world should be ready to secure Iran’s uranium and reactors.
February 1, 2026 | The Wall Street Journal
The Nuclear Threat After Tehran Falls
In the event of regime change, the world should be ready to secure Iran’s uranium and reactors.
Excerpt
President Trump is reportedly weighing military strikes or other forceful measures in response to Tehran’s deadly crackdown on protesters, and on Thursday he wrote on Truth Social that “a massive Armada is heading to Iran.” Should Mr. Trump opt to destabilize—or help topple—Iran’s repressive regime, the country’s stockpiles of highly enriched uranium and operating nuclear reactors could become dangerously unsecured.
These “loose” assets risk falling into the hands of rogue actors, militias or nonstate groups. They also pose severe hazards to people in the region through accidental release or abandonment. The international community, led by the U.S. and Europe, with Russian and Chinese buy-in, must develop contingency plans to prevent this.
Mr. Albright is president and founder of the Institute for Science and International Security. Ms. Stricker is deputy director of the Nonproliferation Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.