WASHINGTON, D.C., March 14, 2025 — A new Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) report calls for the full, permanent, and verifiable dismantlement of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear weapons program as an essential part of any deal with Iran. In addition to restoring maximum pressure on Iran to deny the regime a nuclear weapons capability and counter its malign influence abroad, President Trump has expressed interest in a negotiated deal with Iran. If the Trump administration chooses to negotiate, the report provides a comprehensive plan to ensure Iran is never able to cross the nuclear weapons threshold.
The report, “Iran’s Nuclear Disarmament: The Only Deal That Protects U.S. and Allied Security,” calls for the Trump administration to reject the incrementalism of the 2015 nuclear deal, which provided temporary restrictions while allowing Iran to retain the infrastructure needed for a rapid nuclear breakout.
“With sufficient highly enriched uranium to produce multiple nuclear weapons within months, Tehran is closer than ever to becoming a nuclear-armed state,” FDD CEO Mark Dubowitz writes in the foreword. “Most of this nuclear expansion occurred after the January 2021 inauguration of President Joe Biden, who abandoned Trump’s maximum pressure campaign.
“The clear lesson: The Islamic Republic will escalate when it senses American weakness; it will back down when it perceives American strength,” Dubowitz states.
Authors Orde Kittrie, Andrea Stricker, and Behnam Ben Taleblu provide a four-point strategy to achieve the permanent dismantlement of Tehran’s nuclear weapons enterprise:
Full, permanent, and verifiable disarmament: An effective deal would not entail a mere freeze or modest rollback of Iran’s nuclear program, like the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Essential precondition of talks: The United States should only agree to enter negotiations if Tehran agrees at the outset, and takes actions on the ground to prove, that an agreement would achieve the nuclear disarmament of Iran.
Economic pressure and military force, as required: The United States will need to impose maximal economic pressure on Tehran and underscore that it will use military force, if necessary, to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Explore fundamental change in Iran: Trump may need to make clear that unless Tehran dismantles its nuclear weapons program, the United States will explore other policy options to include assuring the success of the Iranian people’s goal of replacing the theocratic regime.
Kittrie is an FDD senior fellow and a law professor at Arizona State University. Stricker is deputy director of FDD’s Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program and a research fellow. Taleblu is senior director of FDD’s Iran Program and a senior fellow.
“If history is any indicator, Iran will use negotiations to continue its nuclear march and deflect the most stringent sanctions,” the authors write. “Thus, while the president seeks a deal with the Islamic Republic, he will need to sustain and amass significant leverage via maximum economic pressure and a credible threat of military force.”
The three experts on Iran’s nuclear program write that there are eight key obligations that would eliminate Iran’s nuclear weapons program and should be part of any new agreement:
Require Iran to permanently adhere to and comply with its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) obligations.
Eliminate Iran’s access to nuclear fuel and require Tehran to allow the full, permanent, and verifiable dismantlement, export, or in-place destruction of its uranium, plutonium, and heavy water production assets and associated equipment.
Require Iran’s complete disclosure of past and current nuclear weaponization work.
Require unimpeded access to suspect sites and ensure verification. This includes requiring Iran to ratify and permanently adhere to the IAEA Additional Protocol (AP).
Permanently and verifiably terminate Iran’s nuclear weapons research and development.
End Iran’s illicit nuclear and missile imports and exports.
Require Iran to terminate weapons of mass destruction (WMD) delivery vehicle efforts and abide by arms embargoes.
Terminate Iran’s nuclear, missile, and arms cooperation with Russia, China, North Korea, and other states.
“To make a deal that stands the test of time and solves the Iran nuclear crisis,” the authors write, “Trump must insist upon the wholesale and irreversible disarmament of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear weapons program.”
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