Netanyahu pressing Trump for Iran nuclear attack: Report
US political commentator Tucker Carlson has claimed that President Donald Trump could be days away from authorising a nuclear strike on Iran, alleging that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pressing Washington to attack a suspected nuclear site in central Iran.
In a post on X late Sunday, Carlson identified the potential target as Pickaxe Mountain, where Israeli intelligence believes Iran has resumed its nuclear enrichment programme.
He claimed conventional US weapons could not penetrate the estimated 300 feet of solid granite protecting underground tunnels at the site, leaving a nuclear strike as the only military option.
“Bibi (Netanyahu) calls Trump about it every day,” Carlson quoted an unnamed source as saying.
Carlson alleged that Netanyahu was seeking renewed military action to protect his political future, claiming the Israeli prime minister needed Trump’s support to secure a 61-seat majority in the Knesset and avoid losing power, facing investigations and possible imprisonment.
He further claimed Netanyahu had been pressing senior US officials, including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper, to resume major combat operations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe were also allegedly following Netanyahu’s lead, he said.
Carlson warned that renewed fighting could have severe regional and global consequences, saying eight months of conflict had already hurt Gulf economies and disrupted energy and fertiliser markets.
He also claimed 11 of the world’s approximately 850 oil supertankers were badly damaged in the Strait of Hormuz in October.
He warned that a nuclear explosion at Pickaxe Mountain could contaminate the Gulf and threaten the water supply of around 100 million people.
Carlson alleged that the Trump administration had quietly revised US nuclear doctrine since February to make the first use of so-called battlefield nuclear weapons easier.
He said Trump could decide by November 7 whether to authorise their use.
Vance, Witkoff favour diplomacy
Carlson claimed Vice President JD Vance and US special envoy Steve Witkoff were urging Trump to pursue a diplomatic agreement with Tehran rather than resume military action.
He said people who had spoken with Iranian decision-makers believed there was a consensus that further conflict would benefit no one and that an agreement was worth pursuing.
He also alleged that Netanyahu had secretly travelled to Abu Dhabi on September 27 to seek UAE support for a final attack on Iran, but Emirati officials had refused.
Carlson further claimed former US president Barack Obama opposed the Iran peace agreement being drafted in Doha.
Trump says sites could be struck within minutes
Carlson’s claims followed Trump’s remarks at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Saturday that one or two Iranian nuclear facilities remained potential targets and could be struck within 10 minutes.
Trump specifically mentioned Pickaxe Mountain, saying the US had military plans for the area, but did not indicate that a nuclear strike had been authorised.