After Iran: What Will Policing Non-proliferation Require?
Posted: 24th July 2025
This past Saturday, President Trump warned that if Iran should choose to build new nuclear fuel making plants, he would “obliterate” them. This announcement followed a private meeting between Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Netanyahu’s trusted advisor, Ron Dermer, to clarify when the United States might greenlight Israel to continue bombing Iranian nuclear sites. This challenge raises the question of how, after the Iran bombings, the United States should police non-proliferation. Last Friday, I gave a presentation before the National Institute for Deterrence Studies to clarify what our government seems to be backing into—using military force against nuclear non-proliferation violators. The presentation, “After Iran: What Will Policing Non-proliferation Require?,” is broken into five sections. The first examines the similarities of the late 70s and early 80s to what we’re now going through—a mixture of hostile and friendly states on the brink of getting bombs. The second section, “No Rules, No Policing, Not Right,” reviews the most recent official statements as to when the United States might use force again against Iran. The third reviews other possible nonproliferation rules and red lines the United States and other nations could adopt. The presentation’s last section focuses on creating a Nonproliferation Enforcement Initiative that would have its own command at STRATCOM. Finally, there’s a Q&A section.