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Former CIA officer alleges Trump is weighing nuclear strike on Iran site
Former CIA officer John Kiriakou claims Donald Trump is considering a tactical nuclear strike on Iran’s underground Pickaxe Mountain site, and says the aim could include making future presidents more willing to use nuclear weapons. The allegation is unverified and has been widely derided; if carried out, such a strike would mark a major escalation.
Kiriakou said he had heard the claim from contacts at the White House, while broadcaster Tucker Carlson separately said Trump might be close to ordering a strike. The article says conventional bunker-buster bombs have struggled to damage the deep underground facility, whose purpose remains unclear, and cites a 400-kiloton B61-11 as one possible weapon. Trump previously said there was no need to use nuclear weapons against Iran, and none have been used in war since the US bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
In short
- A former CIA officer alleges Trump is considering a nuclear strike on Iran.
- The claim is unverified and would represent a major escalation.
- Trump previously said nuclear weapons were unnecessary against Iran.
Explained simply
Iran’s nuclear programme includes facilities built underground, where they may be harder to reach with conventional weapons. Pickaxe Mountain is the name used for one such site; its purpose is not clear.
The United States has conventional bombs designed to hit fortified or buried targets, but their ability to damage a deeply buried facility can be limited. A nuclear weapon would cause far greater destruction and radioactive fallout, and using one would be a major escalation.
Donald Trump is the US president, and John Kiriakou is a former CIA officer. Nuclear weapons have not been used in war since the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, so any suggestion of their use against Iran carries implications well beyond the site itself.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Trump is ‘considering nuclear strike on Iran’, former CIA agent claims”.