Peloni: Even if Iran were to make a full capitulation on the nuclear file, they have the knowledge needed to redo what they have already done. Any sanctions relief forthcoming would provide them the immense wealth with which to fund a rapid return to doing so in some new subterranean tomb in the vast openness of Iran’s mountains and desert areas. And of course, they will have the motivation to put all of this into play since the Islamist regime which has threatened the world with nuclear domination once will be the same regime which will still be committed to doing so once again. Regime change in Iran is the victory which was needed to secure the region and America’s role in it as it pivots to Asia. Failing to erradicate the current regime in Iran would simply delay the inevitable outcome already announced by the Mullahs and the IRGC. This will ultimately lead to a nuclear Iran in the distant or not too distant future. So it comes down to the question of whether it will be the children of the current generation or their grand kids who will face a nuclear Iran – again, should regime change fail to materialize under the current administration.
Andrea Stricker | April 10, 2026
The United States and Israel have delivered a near-devastating blow to the Iranian regime. In a sustained campaign of precision strikes, they have crippled Iran’s top military and political leadership, shattered much of its navy, air force, and ballistic missile and drone capabilities, and gutted key elements of its defense industrial base. Meanwhile, relentless attacks continue to dismantle what remains of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
It has been a strong and effective campaign.
This military pressure, combined with diplomatic leverage from Washington and Jerusalem, has forced Iran to accept a two-week ceasefire. Pakistan is mediating talks in Islamabad — set to begin this weekend, with Vice President JD Vance leading the U.S. delegation (alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner) — aimed at forging a more permanent settlement.
As these negotiations get underway, President Donald Trump must approach them with the clear-eyed realism that victory demands: to the victor go the spoils. Trump’s negotiators should insist on nothing short of Iran’s complete and verifiable nuclear disarmament. This means the full removal or permanent neutralization of the country’s enriched uranium stockpile (including the roughly 970 pounds of uranium enriched up to 60% — enough, if further enriched, for approximately 11 nuclear weapons), the irreversible dismantling of enrichment and weaponization infrastructure, and intrusive international inspections with no sunset clause.
Anything less risks squandering the hard-won strategic gains of recent weeks and all but guarantees Tehran will resume its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Addressing the most critical issue — dealing with the stocks of enriched uranium that remain entombed in several damaged Iranian sites since the U.S. and Israeli campaign in June — must be foremost in negotiators’ minds.
The litmus test? Negotiators must demand Iran commit to a firm timetable allowing a team of multinational experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations, or elsewhere, equipped with heavy machinery and WMD retrieval gear, to recover and remove the highly enriched uranium — along with other stocks enriched to 5%-20% purity — from the rubble of tunnels at Isfahan, as well as from Natanz and Fordow. Iran’s agreement, or lack thereof, will reveal its true seriousness about reaching a final deal.
In addition, the U.S. must insist that Iran commit to a permanent and total ban on uranium enrichment. Tehran has long pursued nuclear breakout capability under the cover of a supposed civilian enrichment program, despite repeated denials and IAEA concerns over undeclared activities.
Already, despite differing reports about how U.S. and Iran peace plans address Trump’s red line of zero enrichment, Iranian officials are insisting on their supposed “right” to enrich. This must be a non-starter for Washington. Any enrichment capability — no matter how limited or supposedly safeguarded — leaves Tehran with the technical ability to race toward weapons-grade material whenever it chooses, potentially simply waiting out the remainder of Trump’s term before sprinting to a bomb.
Finally, although the U.S. and Israel have further degraded Iran’s nuclear program in the recent campaign, Tehran may have concealed stocks of centrifuges and centrifuge components, additional weaponization facilities, and critical documentation and equipment related to nuclear weapons production. It also had an enrichment plant under construction deep in the Isfahan tunnels and potentially another heavily fortified site underway in Pickaxe Mountain near Natanz — possibly buried even deeper than Fordow and beyond the reach of even the largest U.S. bunker-busting bombs.
Trump highlighted this threat last month, stating that Iran was “starting work at another site, a different site … that was protected by granite … They wanted to go a lot deeper, and they started the process,” a comment widely understood to refer to the Pickaxe Mountain facility.
Washington must demand that Tehran fully declare all such assets to the IAEA and permit immediate, unfettered access for inspectors to verify, account for, and dismantle them. The IAEA has deep experience overseeing the dismantlement of nuclear weapons programs in Iraq, Libya, and South Africa, along with years of on-the-ground experience inspecting Iran itself, and is well-positioned to lead this verification and elimination effort.
Should Tehran refuse these core demands, the U.S. and Israel must be prepared to resume targeted military operations. Future strikes should focus not only on remaining nuclear assets but also on additional regime figures and the extensive terrorist-supporting apparatus that has fueled proxy wars across the region for decades.
A durable peace cannot rest on half-measures or unenforceable promises. It requires the decisive elimination of Iran’s nuclear weapons potential and a fundamental shift in the regime’s behavior. Trump now has the leverage to secure exactly that. He should use it.
Andrea Stricker is deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies‘ Nonproliferation Program and a research fellow at the FDD. Follow her on X @StrickerNonpro. FDD is a Washington, D.C.-based, nonpartisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.
https://x.com/YehoshuaMeiri/status/2043236404902121892
**Urgent Phone Call with Saudi Crown Prince Changed the Course of Trump’s Speech: Only a Temporary Ceasefire**
What began as preparations for an announcement of a U.S. withdrawal from the Iranian arena ended in a surprise. President Donald Trump intended to declare a full ceasefire and an end to the fighting against Iran, in exchange for the immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz. However, a charged phone call with the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, changed the plan at the last moment.
According to White House sources, bin Salman pleaded with Trump not to halt the operation: “This is a historic opportunity – we must finish the job and weaken the Iranian regime to the end.” In exchange for continuing the fighting, Saudi Arabia offered an unprecedented package of economic and strategic incentives.
Among the standout items:
Transfer of 100 billion dollars directly to fund American war expenses.
Full and immediate normalization with Israel following the defeat of the regime in Tehran.
Laying a direct oil pipeline from Saudi Arabia to the port of Ashdod, which will turn Israel into a central energy hub.
Investment of nearly a trillion dollars in the American economy alongside the purchase of American weapons in the amount of half a trillion dollars.
Establishment of a new regional defense alliance – a kind of “Middle Eastern NATO” – that will include Israel, Saudi Arabia, and additional moderate countries under an American umbrella.
It was also agreed to establish a joint naval force to control the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab.
Funding for strategic American bases in Israel, and a joint reconstruction fund for Iran for the “day after” as a secular and moderate state.
In the end, Trump announced only a temporary ceasefire, and not a final end to the fighting. Senior diplomatic figures described the move as a “historic turning point” that marks the beginning of a new regional order.
The Iranian government is not going to be willing to end their nuclear program. They won’t give permission for the US or Israel to remove nuclear fissile material.
Sadly there is only one answer to this problem: the Iranian government must be overthrown and those members of the government still alive, liberated to find employment elsewhere.
Returning the government to people who believe in Iran’s right to a nuclear weapons program is going to fail. Many members of the government have no problem lying to President Trump and presenting themselves as more “reasonable” than the already killed members of government. That lying is completely acceptable to Muslims.
Trump’s behavior on multiple occasions indicates he takes Muslims at their word, when this is a potentially lethal and devastating mistake for our country and for any other country in the world other than Muslim majority countries.
Trump’s mistake of this kind with Al Jolani of Syria, e.g. is one he has continued to justify. Similarly his support for Erdogan shows a lack of understanding of who Erdogan really is. Most recently Erdogan has stated with the failure of cease fire negotiations in Pakistan, he wants to fight Israel on Hezbollah’s and Iran’s side. All we need now is for Trump to come out on the side of the “new” Iranian government made up of the old Iranian government now dressing themselves up as “reasonable.”
One thing I also have noticed about Trump is he wants to show the countries of the world, all of them, that he is not particularly interested in forcing them to be like the US as in “making the world safe for democracy.” He is trying to distinguish himself from prior presidents who did want to remake countries in our image. So he takes the position of being accepting that other countries have other values….except if their highest hopes are to blow Israel and the US off the map.
Most of the countries of the Middle East, especially those who have been attacked by Iran, are begging Trump to finish the job in Iran, with no half measures. Thanks to Iran’s missteps in attacking them, they are now closer to Israel than ever before, because they rightly see Israel as being willing to “finish the job.”
It was also smart of Trump to choose Pakistan for this ceasefire negotiation, as no sooner did Pakistan start the negotiations when the government came out with the most antisemitic public statement calling Israel a “cancer.” The reason I say this was smart of President Trump is that he likely knew this was the attitude on the part of Pakistan, but all he needed was a public statement by them, which was incontrovertible evidence that they cannot be trusted as an ally. In addition, the ceasefire negotiation led to a lot of infighting amongst factions in the Iranian government, which led to information useful for the US and Israel.
I may be giving Trump either too much credit or too little credit. It is always difficult to know what other people are thinking.
This war is not finished until Iran is prevented from ever getting nuclear weapons, as the article says. I think Trump knows this, and Israel certainly does. The “ceasefire” (or hudna) is already foundering, so let’s hope the attacks on Iran can continue until there is regime change. Bombardment alone won’t do it, however. That final step depends on the Iranian people, and so far they haven’t been able to take over. Trump needs to arm them quickly and the CIA and Mossad direct them in the next stage. With huge support from the military both of the USA and Israel, I believe this could happen sooner than we think.
Essentially, Iran has the right to enrich and develop whatever it wants, but, as long as they continue to threaten to strike other countries with nuclear bombs, that right is no longer available. The issue is that the right or the capability must be taken away from them in a fully controllable manner, otherwise, they will try again and again. Who is going to step up to the plate to ensure the control? The western countries will not do so and the others will politely decline. There is nothing to expect from either Russia or China who have been encouraging Iran all along. As usual, only Israel will attempt to keep Iranian fingers from nuclear devices, and all the others will continue to watch the canary in the mine.