US President Donald Trump has dismissed the possibility of using nuclear weapons against Iran but suggested that further American military action could target the country’s nuclear infrastructure.
During an interview with Newsmax on Thursday, Trump discussed reports that Washington was considering deploying the powerful conventional weapon known as the “mother of all bombs”, potentially after the upcoming US midterm elections.
The president sought to distinguish the weapon from a nuclear bomb, emphasising that its destructive capacity did not make it nuclear.
“The mother of all bombs is not nuclear,” Trump said. “This is just an extremely large bomb.”
He repeated the point, saying: “The mother of all bombs is one big bomb, but it’s not nuclear.”
When questioned about whether nuclear weapons could be used against Iran, Trump rejected the idea.
“No, I wouldn’t use nuclear. We don’t have to,” he said.
Although he ruled out nuclear strikes, Trump indicated that Washington was considering further attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
He specifically mentioned Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected underground installation that could become a target of future US military operations.
“Now, we’re looking at Pickaxe Mountain. We may have to go there,” he said, adding: “We’ll take a shot at that one. We’ll knock it out fast.”
Trump also played down the prospect of deploying American soldiers on the ground.
Asked whether an operation against the facility would require US troops, he responded: “No, I don’t see that. I don’t see that.”
The president argued that withdrawing from military operations before preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons could make another intervention necessary within a year.
“We want to make it so that they will never have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
While Trump’s remarks indicated that additional conventional strikes remain under consideration, he did not announce a final decision or provide a timetable for any operation.