Trump is 'considering nuclear strike on Iran', former CIA agent claims

Donald Trump is 'considering' launching a nuclear strike on Iran to destroy its Pickaxe Mountain lair, a former CIA agent has claimed. John Kiriakou, who worked at the Central Intelligence Agency from 1990 to 2004, warned the US President was seeking to 'break' the 'final taboo' around dropping nuclear bombs. The former spy claimed Mr Trump wanted to ensure future presidents 'feel empowered' to use America's arsenal of ultimate weapons more liberally.

His comments come after Tucker Carlson , a former Fox News presenter and Maga whisperer, claimed Trump 'may be within days of launching a nuclear strike 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,' Mr 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.' The deployment of nuclear weapons would be a major escalation in the war. Such weapons have not been used in anger since the end of the Second World War, when America used nuclear bombs to level the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. In the past, Iran has openly discussed plans to build centrifuges to support its nuclear enrichment efforts at Pickaxe Mountain . The complex is also estimated to be large enough to house an enrichment plant.

Although its true purpose remains shrouded in mystery. Donald Trump is allegedly considering using nuclear weapons, a former CIA agent has claimed The Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility is hidden deep in central Iran (pictured in June 2026) Your browser does not support iframes. Conventional bunker-buster bombs have so far struggled to cause enough damage to Iran's mountain facility, which is deep underground. The deployment of a smaller tactical nuke, like the air-launched 400 kiloton B61-11, could pack enough punch to destroy the facility.

Fears the US was about to nuke Iran deepened overnight after a nuclear strike warning was broadcast by Iranian state TV. In the broadcast, Iranians were warned that in the event of a nuclear blast to 'take shelter behind a barrier, lie on the ground and cover your head and face' and not to look at 'intense flash'. Once the blast wave passed, the public was urged to 'enter the nearest building' and to not 'stay to watch or take photos' of the blast's aftermath, Saudi Arabian news agency Al Arabiya , reported.

It added people should take shelter for 24 hours and wait for official announcements giving the all clear. As concerns continue to grow, there was a palpable sense of fury in Tehran, with Iranians taking to the streets of the capital on Tuesday morning, holding signs declaring: 'Trump must die'. A large billboard in Enghelab Square also showed a mocked-up image of Trump behind bars, with the words 'We will kill Trump' emblazoned upon it.

Dropping nuclear bombs on Iran would be an extraordinary step by America, with the claims widely derided. The radioactive fallout could spread hundreds of miles across the Middle East. John Kiriakou, who worked at the Central Intelligence Agency from 1990 to 2004, is pictured on Piers Morgan Uncensored A large billboard in Enghelab Square also showed a mocked-up image of Trump behind bars, with the words 'We will kill Trump' emblazoned upon it.

Iranians were seen holding signs saying 'Trump must be killed' on Tuesday in Tehran President Trump previously suggested he had no intention of dropping nuclear bombs on Iran . 'We don't need it. Why do I need it?' he said in April, when asked about the prospect of 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 American leader repeated the stance 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.'

Your browser does not support iframes. 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. President Trump overnight green-lit a limited series of defensive strikes on Iranian targets on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. And American F-35C is seen preparing to launch from USS George Washington on Oct 30 US sailors departing an E-2D Hawkeye on the flight deck aircraft carrier USS George Washington on Oct 29 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. Donald Trump has authorized defensive strikes on Iranian targets on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz the Strait of Hormuz just one day before the midterm elections, a US official confirmed.

Pictured: A destroyed building on the island from September Iranians stand in front of an anti-US and anti-Israel billboard during a gathering in Tehran's Enghelab Square on Nov 3 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.'