Tucker Carlson says in a post on X that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing the Trump administration toward a nuclear strike on Iran within days. The claim rests on one unnamed source, and no official has confirmed it.
Carlson wrote that the target would be Pickaxe Mountain in central Iran, where he says Israeli intelligence claims Tehran has restarted enrichment. He argued that no conventional weapon in the US arsenal can penetrate 300 feet of granite, so only a nuclear strike could destroy the tunnels. Netanyahu has pushed hard for one, and “Bibi calls Trump about it every day,” Carlson quoted an informed observer as saying.
He wrote that Trump will probably decide by November 7, though he is hesitating and weighing advice from Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff, who say a deal is possible.
The commentator, who has publicly broken with Trump over the Iran war, wrote that Netanyahu needs the conflict to stay in power. Provisional results from Israel’s election gave Netanyahu’s bloc 53 of 120 Knesset seats, the opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot 48 and Arab parties 19, with 61 needed for a majority. Carlson wrote that Netanyahu cannot form a government unless Trump intervenes.
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No official statement supports the claim. A White House official declined to discuss sensitive military plans, saying only that such plans “may or may not exist” and that Trump keeps all options open. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump has not decided whether to resume strikes. Tehran says no nuclear work is under way at the complex.
Trump said Saturday at Mar-a-Lago that the US could deal with one or two Iranian sites in “10 minutes” and that he is not in much of a hurry. He did not say what weapon would be used. He said no new attacks would come before Tuesday’s midterm elections but did not rule out action afterward.
A report citing an Israeli and an American source said Trump and Netanyahu spoke by phone Saturday, and the Israeli source called the call “tough.” Netanyahu wants a strike right after the midterms, and Trump wants talks first.
Talks with Qatari mediators continue in Doha. Vance wrote to Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, who confirmed he received the letter. Rezaei says Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the US meets its conditions, which include an end to hostilities, relief on Iranian ports and release of frozen assets. The sides have not reached an agreement.
Carlson also wrote that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Rubio, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe back Netanyahu’s push and that the administration has rewritten US nuclear doctrine to make first use easier. These claims have not been independently confirmed.
