White House Won't Rule Out Any Option After Tucker Carlson Claims Trump Is Days From a Nuclear Strike on Iran

The White House has not confirmed that a nuclear strike on Iran is under consideration. Tucker Carlson claimed Donald Trump may order a nuclear strike within days. A White House official would not discuss military plans. Trump keeps all options open to stop Iran from getting the bomb, the official said. The official did not mention nuclear arms.

Carlson, a former Fox News host, provided no independently verifiable evidence, and Trump ruled out nuclear arms last month. The US has been in conflict with Iran since February, though large-scale fighting has paused and both sides have since traded limited strikes. His claim, naming Pickaxe Mountain, drew more than 48 million views on X by Monday, the eve of the midterms, Newsweek reported.

What Tucker Carlson Claimed

Carlson posted on X on 2 November. Pickaxe Mountain is a tunnel site in central Iran, near the Natanz nuclear facility. He said no normal US bomb could reach tunnels under about 300 feet (91 metres) of granite. Only a nuclear weapon would work, he argued. Carlson quoted an unnamed source as saying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls Trump about it daily. The full message is below.

Carlson named Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff as backers of a deal. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US forces in the Middle East, favour more fighting, he said. He linked Netanyahu's push to Israel's 27 October election, which left Netanyahu's bloc short of a majority. He claimed Trump could decide by Saturday 7 November. 'After the first nuclear strike, World War Three is inevitable,' he wrote.

What Trump and His Officials Have Said

Trump told US channel Newsmax on 15 October: 'I wouldn't use nuclear. We don't have to.' On Saturday, he told reporters at his Florida home US forces could hit Pickaxe Mountain 'very quickly'. At an Iowa rally on Sunday, he said the US must one day give Iran 'the hammer'. Marco Rubio, his top diplomat, says Washington is undecided on new strikes.

Axios reported a frank Trump-Netanyahu call on Saturday. Netanyahu wants strikes right after the vote, while Trump wants more time for talks, it said. Iran denies nuclear work at Pickaxe Mountain and warns against new attacks. In September, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US think tank, said satellite photos showed the facility did not yet appear capable of uranium enrichment.

How Experts and Trump Allies Reacted

Gary Samore teaches politics at Brandeis University. Samore has said a US nuclear strike on Iran is 'extremely unlikely'. Jamal Abdi runs the National Iranian American Council. Last month, he said new reports that US officials might use such arms in Iran were 'deeply alarming'.

Former Georgia lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene said Trump 'would be committing crimes against humanity' if he went ahead. Laura Loomer, a pro-Trump activist, called the claim a 'hoax'. Carlson has warned of such a strike several times since April, The Daily Beast noted. In May, the White House called one of his Iran claims 'fake news'.