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U.S. President Donald Trump ruled out using nuclear weapons against Iran but said Washington could carry out further strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, including a suspected underground site known as Pickaxe Mountain.
Speaking in an interview with Newsmax on Thursday, Trump addressed reports that his administration was considering using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, known as MOAB or the “mother of all bombs,” in a future attack on Iran.
“The mother of all bombs is not nuclear,” Trump said. “This is just an extremely large bomb.”
“The mother of all bombs is one big bomb, but it’s not nuclear,” he added.
Asked directly whether he would use nuclear weapons, Trump said: “No, I wouldn’t use nuclear. We don’t have to.”
Trump said the United States was considering another strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, specifically mentioning Pickaxe Mountain.
“Now, we’re looking at Pickaxe Mountain. We may have to go there,” Trump said. “We’ll take a shot at that one. We’ll knock it out fast.”
Asked whether such an operation would involve U.S. ground forces, Trump replied: “No, I don’t see that. I don’t see that.”
He said withdrawing before ensuring Iran could not obtain a nuclear weapon could require further U.S. military action within a year.
“We want to make it so that they will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
CNN reported, citing multiple U.S. officials familiar with the matter, that the military had developed new strike plans that could include using the MOAB against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites if Trump ordered renewed combat operations before or after the U.S. midterm elections.
The MOAB is the largest non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal.
CNN reported that some officials questioned how effective the weapon would be in achieving Trump’s stated objectives or altering the course of the war.
According to the report, Trump ordered additional strike packages covering Iranian targets, including “a lot of energy infrastructure.” At the same time, military plans for potential strikes on nuclear sites such as Pickaxe Mountain also included possible use of the MOAB.
Some plans envisioned additional strikes before a U.S. military withdrawal from the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
Trump has previously said he would not take new action before the midterm elections, though CNN reported that some White House advisers were uncertain whether that position was final.
Trump also predicted that the war with Iran would end soon, saying Tehran was negotiating with Washington.
“The Iran war will be over very soon. It’s going to end very soon,” Trump said.
“One way or the other, it’ll end very soon. And oil will go dropping like a rock—and gas prices as well.”
Trump claimed Iranian officials had asked the United States and Israel to halt military operations.
“They’ve asked us to please stop. And we do, because we’re negotiating with them,” he said.
Asked whether he trusted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump replied: “I don’t trust anybody, honestly.”
“In the world of politics, I don’t trust anybody,” he added.
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