How to Crush Iran’s Nuclear Threat for Good

Excerpt

Upon launching Operation Epic Fury on February 28, President Donald Trump declared, “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.” Yet, Iran’s clerical rulers continue to defy this demand and seek to rebuild a nuclear weapons option. Thus far, they appear unmoved by Trump’s threats to “unleash hell.”

Whether through a negotiated settlement reportedly under discussion or through sustained military and intelligence operations, Washington and Jerusalem now have a historic opportunity to eliminate Iran’s future proliferation risks—but only if they act decisively. The allies must finish the destruction of Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and secure a full accounting and dismantlement of all related assets.

The US and Israeli strikes in June 2025 created severe bottlenecks in Iran’s nuclear-weapons program. Prior to the attacks, Tehran was roughly six months from producing a functional nuclear device. It possessed enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) for approximately 11 bombs, along with lower-enriched material sufficient for another 11.

The 12-Day War devastated fuel-production infrastructure at Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan, while Israel targeted key weaponization sites, equipment, documentation, and personnel.

Andrea Stricker is deputy director of the Nonproliferation Program and a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. She is an expert on nuclear weapons proliferation and counterproliferation, open-source proliferation and policy analysis, and strategic commodity trafficking. Follow her on X: @StrickerNonpro. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.