Donald Trump is considering a nuclear strike on Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain facility to destroy its underground complex, according to a former CIA officer.
John Kiriakou, who served with the Central Intelligence Agency between 1990 and 2004, claimed the US president was looking to break what he described as the “final taboo” on using nuclear weapons.
The former intelligence officer said Trump wanted to create a precedent that would leave future presidents feeling more willing to deploy America’s most destructive weapons.
Kiriakou’s remarks followed claims by Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host and prominent Maga figure, that Trump could be only days away from ordering a nuclear attack on Iran.
“I’ve heard the same thing from my own contacts at the White House, that the President is considering the use of a tactical nuclear weapon against Pickaxe Mountain so it will penetrate to the point that it will destroy everything that’s underground,” Kiriakou told Piers Morgan Uncensored.
“But more than that, he wants to break that final taboo — and I’m told that’s the word he is using: ‘the final taboo’ — so that future presidents would feel empowered to use a nuclear weapon. I think it’s crazy.”
Using a nuclear weapon would represent a dramatic escalation in the conflict. Atomic bombs have not been used in warfare since the United States destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan at the end of the Second World War in 1945.
Iranian state TV broadcasts nuclear strike warning
Iran has previously discussed plans to build centrifuges for nuclear enrichment at Pickaxe Mountain. The site is also believed to be large enough to contain an enrichment facility, although its exact purpose remains unclear.
Conventional bunker-buster weapons have reportedly struggled to inflict serious damage on the facility because it is located deep beneath a mountain. A smaller tactical nuclear weapon, such as the air-launched 400-kiloton B61-11, could theoretically deliver enough force to destroy the site.
Concern that Washington could be preparing to use a nuclear weapon against Iran intensified overnight after Iranian state television aired a warning about surviving a nuclear strike.
The broadcast advised people to shelter behind a barrier if a nuclear blast occurred, lie on the ground and cover their heads and faces. Viewers were also told not to look toward the “intense flash”.
After the blast wave had passed, the public was instructed to enter the nearest building and avoid staying outside to watch or photograph the aftermath, according to Saudi Arabian news outlet Al Arabiya.
The guidance also urged people to remain sheltered for 24 hours and wait for official announcements confirming that it was safe to leave.
As fears mounted, anger was also visible on the streets of Tehran. Iranians gathered in the capital on Tuesday morning carrying signs that read: “Trump must die”.
A large billboard in Enghelab Square displayed a mocked-up image of Trump behind bars, alongside the words: “We will kill Trump”.
A US nuclear attack on Iran would be an unprecedented move, and the claims have been widely dismissed. Any radioactive fallout could travel hundreds of miles across the Middle East.
Trump previously suggested he would not use nuclear weapons on Iran
Trump has previously said he had no intention of using nuclear weapons against Iran.
“We don’t need it. Why do I need it?” he said in April when asked whether he would consider nuking Tehran. “Why would a stupid question like that be asked? Why would I use a nuclear weapon where we’ve totally in a very conventional way decimated them without it.”
“A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody,” he added.
The president reiterated that position at the end of August, saying: “They’re totally defeated militarily, so I defeat them, and now I should use a nuclear weapon on top of them? What a stupid question.”
The Pentagon has not said if America is considering the use of tactical nuclear strikes – and Trump has yet to address the latest rumour.
However, on Monday night, the President did not shy away from the prospect of resuming some form of strike against the underground facility at Pickaxe Mountain, which the US believes Iran might be using to produce weapons-grade uranium.
‘We might have to go after Pickaxe, but that’s not a big deal,’ he told Fox News. ‘We can do it in literally one hour.’
Experts weigh in
Experts have downplayed the chances that Trump would order a nuclear strike on the mountain complex – but they could not rule it out entirely.
‘Is it likely? No,’ Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association (ACA) told TWZ.
‘Is it possible that an unstable desperate president who has sole authority to authorise nuclear weapons use, would do so, yes. Given the situation, it is crucial that responsible US voices and international leaders speak out against a massive US strike on Iran of any kind.’
Analysts have claimed it is likely that the US is preparing to launch a third wave of military strikes against Iran.
In recent weeks, Washington has massed a massive naval strike force in the Arabian Sea, with two heavily-armed carrier strike groups and amphibious assault ships in the region.
A third carrier strike group, led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt, is also steaming towards the Middle East from the Philippine Sea, accompanied by the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit amphibious assault force.
The battle group is expected to arrive in a matter of days, bringing the total number of American sailors and marines in the region to more than 20,000, with more than 20 warships deployed to the region.
Qeshm Island’s strategic importance
President Trump overnight green-lit a limited series of defensive strikes on Iranian targets on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
The island is strategically important. Overlooking the narrowest part of the strait, it has been key in supporting the Islamic regime’s stranglehold on the passage.
Once a popular spot for tourists, the outcrop has been transformed into a military stronghold. It’s believed to house an ‘underground missile city’ where Tehran is thought to have cached vast quantities of weapons, including anti-ship munitions
The network of tunnels is reportedly so far underground that it is practically impervious to conventional weapons, with some analysts speculating the missile base could reach 1,600ft deep.
It is believed Iran has the ability to launch these missiles, targeting ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, small ports dotted around the island’s coastline have allegedly been used by the regime to launch attack boats and drones.
Two officials told NBC News the attacks were in self-defence and in response to Tehran continuing to target maritime shipping and American assets in the region.
They added this is not a resumption of major combat operations in Iran.
One of the officials claimed the US has been intercepting drones and missiles aimed at shipping on a daily basis and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ‘has also routinely targeted and shot at US manned and unmanned aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz’ in the past few weeks.
Former CIA agent warns against further strikes on Iran
The strikes appeared to be limited as opposed to a return to full hostilities but followed President Trump previously saying the US would not launch new strikes on Iran before Tuesday’s midterms.
Mr Kiriakou expressed his concern about any renewed American strikes against Iran, which has so far stubbornly resisted previous US bombardments.
‘Iran is the size of the whole or western Europe, it has 92 million people, it’s surrounded by mountains on three sides and water on the fourth – unless we’re prepared to commit a million ground troops, even a nuclear bomb is not going to win this war,’ he told Piers Morgan.
‘Donald Trump just doesn’t seem to understand we’ve already lost the war. The war is over for all intents and purposes and we’ve lost. Benjamin Netanyahu convinced him that the Iranian government was a house of cards and as soon as we took out the leadership the whole thing would collapse on itself and everybody would live happily ever after.
‘That was never true. It’s even less true now.’