Trump Rules Out Nuclear Strike on Iran, Warns of New Strikes on Pickaxe Mountain

Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump has ruled out using nuclear weapons against Iran in the ongoing war, but warned that the United States may still strike a fortified nuclear-linked site called Pickaxe Mountain. The Trump rules out nuclear strike pledge came in an interview with Newsmax on Thursday night, his clearest statement yet on how far he is willing to go in the conflict with Tehran.

FAKTA

• In a Newsmax interview on Thursday, President Donald Trump ruled out using nuclear weapons against Iran, saying the US does not need them.
• Trump said the US may still strike Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried site linked to Iran’s nuclear program, to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
• The president declined to confirm or deny reports that the US military has drawn up strike plans that could include the GBU-43/B “mother of all bombs,” while stressing that the weapon is not nuclear.
• Trump also ruled out sending US ground troops into Iran, saying any further military action would be conducted without a ground invasion.
• The war began in February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, and Washington has warned it could resume major operations after the November 3 midterm elections.

Trump Rules Out Nuclear Strike on Iran in Newsmax Interview

Asked whether he would use a nuclear weapon in the war against Iran, Trump gave a direct answer. “No, I wouldn’t use nuclear [against Iran]. We don’t have to. We’re the greatest nuclear power in the world,” he told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty at the White House.

The president also rejected the idea of deploying American ground forces. Asked about putting “troops on the ground,” he replied: “No, I don’t see that, I don’t see it.” Earlier in the war, Trump had at times raised the possibility of ground involvement, a move analysts said would be devastating for US soldiers given Iran’s mountainous terrain.

Pickaxe Mountain Named as Possible Target

Trump named Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified facility buried deep underground near one of Tehran’s main nuclear sites, as a possible target of new US strikes. “Their nuclear is buried under millions of tons of mountain. Now we’re looking at Pickaxe Mountain. We may have to go there,” he said. “We’ll take a shot at that one. We’ll knock it out fast.”

A satellite view of Iran’s Natanz nuclear area. Trump said the US may strike Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried site linked to the nuclear program.

He argued that the war cannot end until Iran is prevented from ever developing a nuclear weapon. “We want to make it so that they will never have a nuclear weapon, because if they had it, they would use it, in my opinion, instantaneously,” he said.

“Mother of All Bombs” — Not Nuclear, Trump Insists

The interview followed a CNN report that the US military has drawn up new strike plans against Iran’s energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities that could include the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, known as the “mother of all bombs.” Trump declined to say whether he had authorized its use, but stressed the weapon’s conventional nature. “The mother of all bombs is not nuclear. It’s not nuclear at all. This is just an extremely large bomb,” he said, adding that it is “like a tiny nuclear bomb” in destructive power.

Experts have raised questions about whether the bomb could penetrate deeply buried sites such as Pickaxe Mountain, which is believed to be protected by layers of granite. The roughly 21,600-pound weapon carries about 8,500 kilograms of explosives and was first used in combat in 2017 against an Islamic State tunnel complex in Afghanistan.

Background: War Timing and the Midterm Elections

The war began in February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran and has continued through months of exchanges. Trump has said Washington will hold off on further major strikes until after the November 3 midterm elections, and he told Newsmax the conflict would end “very soon,” whether by force or diplomacy — adding that oil prices would drop once it is over.

Read more of our coverage from the region in the Middle East section.