The strategic objectives of Trump’s foolish war with Iran remain unfulfilled: Iran’s highly enriched uranium (HEU) remains unsecured, regime change has not materialized, and the Strait of Hormuz—once a stable maritime corridor—remains a volatile flashpoint choking off 20 percent of the world’s supply of oil and one-third of its supply of fertilizer. Of these challenges, neutralizing Iran’s nuclear stockpile is the most daunting.
In this week’s episode of Meidas Defense, Marine Corps combat veteran Joe Plenzler sits down with The Honorable Andy Weber, Senior Fellow at the Janne E. Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons. Together, they pull back the curtain on Iran’s nuclear program and the rising chemical and biological threats posed by Russia, China, and North Korea.
The Expert Perspective
There is perhaps no one in America better equipped to discuss the logistics of nuclear recovery than Andy Weber. For over three decades, Weber has operated in the shadows to neutralize the world’s most dangerous weapons. His distinguished career includes serving five-and-a-half years as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs.
Weber’s track record of success is legendary:
Nuclear Recovery: A driving force behind the Nunn-Lugar efforts, he successfully removed weapons-grade uranium from Kazakhstan and Georgia after the Soviet collapse.
The “Personal Air Force”: He famously secured over two dozen nuclear-capable MiG-29s from Moldova.
Bio-Chemical Defense: He orchestrated the dismantling of a Soviet biological weapons factory, oversaw the destruction of Libyan and Syrian chemical stockpiles, and led the international Ebola response for the State Department.
In This Episode, We Cover:
The Iran Reality Check: Why securing HEU from the subterranean tunnels of Isfahan would require a massive, months-long ground occupation rather than a simple “surgical strike.”
The Danger of Tactical Nukes: Why the shift toward “battlefield” nuclear weapons—championed by leaders like Vladimir Putin—actually weakens global deterrence and invites catastrophic miscalculation.
The Biological Frontier: A roadmap for “deterrence by denial,” explaining how a $20 billion investment could make biological weapons obsolete through superior defense.
The Power of Trust and Relationship-Building: Lessons from the Nunn-Lugar program on why “defense by other means”—diplomacy, trust, and transparency—is more effective at neutralizing threats than any missile.
As you will learn in this conversation, securing nuclear material is a Herculean task in peacetime; in the middle of a hot war, it is nearly impossible.
