Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, son of former U.S. President George H.W. Bush and brother of former President George W. Bush, is chairman of the non-profit organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). The mission of UANI is to “prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.”
In early January 2025, UANI released a five-page document titled A 100 Day Plan for the Incoming Trump Administration on Iran. One of the suggestions in the document is to “Transfer Advanced Munitions to Israel” for use in bunker-busting attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
“Begin discussions with the Israeli government to transfer the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator to Israel to enable it strike hardened nuclear targets like the Fordow Enrichment Plant, as well as lease it a B-2 bomber as a delivery vehicle,” Bush’s UANI advises. (The GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator is a 30,000-pound “bunker buster” used by the U.S. Air Force.)
“The Trump administration should also ensure that Boeing KC-46A Pegasus aerial refueling aircraft which are reportedly scheduled for delivery to Israel beginning in 2025 proceed as expeditiously as possible.”
Today United Against Nuclear Iran (@UANI) Chairman Governor @JebBush and CEO Ambassador @mark_d_wallace released the following statement after @POTUS Trump reimplemented maximum pressure on Iran’s regime.https://t.co/Y65r5HHmmB #MaximumPressure
— UANI (@UANI) February 4, 2025
The UANI report takes on added significance in light of two factors: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth‘s connection to Bush and UANI, and reporting that U.S. intelligence is predicting a potential strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities by Israel this year.
[The Jerusalem Post, citing multiple American media sources, say American intelligence reports show that “Israel plans to attempt a strike on Iran’s Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities in the first six months of 2025.”]
Hegseth’s Bush/UANI connection may be more surprising than the organization’s calls for an aggressive approach, for which others also advocate. The Bush family is seen as the symbol of the traditional Republican Party, a strain of the GOP that Trump’s MAGA movement has nearly eradicated.
(One result: The Trump administration is widely perceived to be more amenable to the governance guidance laid out in the MAGA-centric Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 than from other GOP influencers, especially those related to the vanquished Bushes.)
Yet prior to becoming U.S. Secretary of Defense, Hegseth — whose MAGA credentials are impeccable — was named as one of only the three members of UANI’s Veterans Advisory Council, working for the organization chaired by Jeb Bush.
The Defense Secretary is still listed in that role at UANI’s website, indicating — even if he has since resigned the post — that Hegseth, an Iran hawk, would be deeply aware of, if not a direct contributor to, UANI’s latest recommendations, including the U.S. arming Israel for a direct strike and leasing Israelis a B-2 Bomber for the attack.
The UANI document also suggests that the Trump administration “Invoke U.N. Snapback Sanctions Mechanism.”
On February 13, Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska) of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee announced: “Iran’s possession of a nuclear weapon would threaten our security and the security of our allies. Snapback sanctions are key to ensuring that President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign is successful.”
Fellow Republican Claudia Tenney (R-NY), agreed: “Invoking snapback sanctions will restore all the UN sanctions on Iran that were lifted by the Obama administration’s failed Iran nuclear deal.”
Note: The CEO of UANI is Mark Wallace, former US Ambassador to the United Nations during the George W. Bush administration.
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