US media personality and political commentator Tucker Carlson has claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pressing US President Donald Trump to launch a nuclear strike on Iran, alleging that Washington could take a decision on the use of nuclear weapons within days.In a detailed post on X on Monday, Carlson claimed that the proposed target could be Pickaxe Mountain in central Iran, where Israeli intelligence allegedly believes Tehran has restarted its nuclear enrichment programme.He argued that conventional US weapons would not be able to penetrate the mountain’s granite to reach underground tunnels where enrichment activity is supposedly taking place.“Under pressure from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Trump administration may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran,” Carlson wrote.He further claimed that Netanyahu had been pushing for such an operation and quoted an unnamed source as saying, “Bibi calls Trump about it every day.”Carlson’s post did not provide independently verifiable evidence for the claims about a possible nuclear strike or the alleged pressure being exerted by Netanyahu.
Carlson claims Netanyahu wants war to continue
Carlson linked the alleged push for military action to Netanyahu’s political position following last week’s elections in Israel. He claimed the Israeli prime minister would struggle to form a government without Trump’s direct intervention and could face investigations and possible jail if he lost office.“Netanyahu must stay close to Trump. He needs this war,” Carlson wrote.He also alleged that several senior US officials were backing Netanyahu’s position and opposed a negotiated settlement with Iran.Carlson named US defence secretary Pete Hegseth and Centcom commander Brad Cooper, while also claiming that secretary of state Marco Rubio and CIA director John Ratcliffe were following the Israeli prime minister’s lead.Carlson further claimed that former US president Barack Obama had opposed the Iran peace deal being drafted in Doha during a recent meeting. He did not provide details or evidence to substantiate that assertion either.The commentator also said that Netanyahu had travelled secretly to Abu Dhabi on September 27 to seek the United Arab Emirates’ support for a final military operation against Iran, but that the Emiratis had refused.
Warning over regional and global consequences
Carlson warned that another escalation could have serious consequences for the Gulf region and the global economy, pointing to damage to oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and disruptions to energy and fertiliser markets.He claimed that 11 of the approximately 850 supertankers used to transport oil globally had been badly damaged in the Strait of Hormuz in October.On the consequences of a possible nuclear strike, Carlson alleged that a ground explosion at Pickaxe Mountain could contaminate the Persian Gulf and affect the water supply of 100 million people. He also warned that the use of a nuclear weapon by the US could set a precedent for other countries.Carlson claimed that Russia had told at least two governments that a US nuclear strike on Iran would give it the freedom to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. He also cited possible nuclear escalation involving North Korea and South Korea.He further alleged that the US administration had quietly revised its nuclear doctrine since February to make the first use of so-called “battlefield nukes” easier.
Trump weighing diplomacy as Iran talks continue
Carlson’s claims come amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to resume negotiations between Washington and Tehran, even as the possibility of renewed military action remains under discussion.US President Donald Trump and Netanyahu spoke by phone on Saturday about the state of negotiations with Iran and the possibility of returning to military operations, according to an Axios report.The report said Netanyahu was pressing Trump to launch fresh strikes after Tuesday’s US midterm elections, while the US president wanted to allow negotiations to continue. An Israeli source described the conversation as “tough”, while a US source called it “direct”.Trump later described the conversation as a “very good talk” and confirmed that Iran was among the subjects discussed, without providing further details.Trump has said negotiations with Iran were “going fine” and that he was not “in much of a hurry”. However, he also indicated that the US still needed to address one or two Iranian nuclear sites, specifically referring to Pickaxe Mountain.“We can do that in 10 minutes. We have that planned. You can look at Pickaxe Mountain. We need to take care of that. We can do that very quickly,” Trump said.Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance sent a letter last week to Iran’s national security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, regarding the possibility of restarting negotiations.Qatari mediators also held discussions with Iranian officials for a third consecutive day on Sunday in an effort to facilitate an agreement to resume direct talks between Washington and Tehran.Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said no agreement had been reached and that progress depended on the US responding to Tehran’s questions.“We are making every effort in this regard and hope that the other side will demonstrate enough rationality to choose diplomacy over other paths,” Araghchi said.Carlson, meanwhile, claimed that Trump was listening to Vance and US envoy Steve Witkoff, who he said believed a deal with Iran could still be reached.He urged the US administration to pursue diplomacy, warning against a nuclear escalation.