Trump threatens to give Iran "the hammer" as Carlson alleges nuclear plot

Donald Trump has teased another military attack on Iran, saying "we're going to have to give them the hammer." The U.S. president's comments come amid speculation from his former ally, the broadcaster Tucker Carlson, that Trump "may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran" in conjunction with Israel. Carlson has offered no evidence for his claim but his post on X gained much traction and comment online, attracting over 48 million views as of Monday.

Read More on World Newsweek has contacted the White House and Israel's government for comment. ... What Did Trump Say About Iran? Two days ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, Trump addressed supporters at a campaign rally in Dubuque, Iowa on Sunday. Trump launched the Iran war on February 28 with joint Israeli strikes and while hostilities have ceased, no deal to end the war seems imminent. The U.S. president told the crowd that he had held back from further attacks to avoid casualties.

During the rally, Trump again said that U.S. military action had destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities and predicted that higher fuel costs and the war would fall soon. "The only reason why I’m not finished with Iran is I want to be nice," Trump said, "at some point we’re going to have to give them the hammer," referring to further strikes. There has been growing speculation about whether the U.S. would resume strikes on Iran after the midterms, having previously said there would be no attacks before Americans go to the polls.

Trump separately told reporters that the U.S. has knocked out much of Iran's military but still has to "take care of" one or two targets. Tehran has warned of reprisals if attacked. "You probably could look at Pickaxe Mountain," Trump said, referring to the underground complex in Iran which is at the center of unproven claims it is the location of highly enriched uranium which could be further enriched for nuclear weapons. What Did Tucker Carlson Say?

Pickaxe Mountain was the subject of Carlson's X post, which claimed that it could be the target of a U.S.-led nuclear strike, "under pressure from Benjamin Netanyahu." View this post on X Carlson went on to say that no conventional U.S. weapon in the American arsenal can penetrate the site to destroy the tunnels below and so the "only military option is a nuclear strike." "Netanyahu has been pushing hard for one. 'Bibi calls Trump about it every day,' says an informed observer," the post said.

Following Israel's parliamentary election in which Netanyahu's bloc did not gain a majority, Carlson suggested that the Israeli prime minister needs the Iran war "otherwise, he is out as prime minister and on his way to ignominy." The rest of Carlson's post outlined the consequences of a nuclear strike which would contaminate the Persian Gulf, kill tens of millions of people and give carte blanche for nuclear strikes by other powers such as Russia, ultimately meaning "World War Three is inevitable."

In a statement to Newsweek on October 17, Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) addressed speculation about a nuclear strike by the U.S. on Iran which said "it is deeply alarming that we are once again seeing reports that U.S. officials are contemplating using nuclear weapons inside Iran." "If nuclear use against Iran is being discussed inside this administration, our lawmakers must demand answers immediately and every policymaker must unequivocally reject it," Abdi added.

Carlson's post prompted some skepticism but his concerns were backed by some prominent figures, such as former Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who fell foul of Trump. She posted "it must be stopped." Carlson was widely condemned last month for questioning the wisdom of the U.K. fighting Nazi Germany in World War II, during an interview with the former British lawmaker Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg. Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Robert Greenall and Ben Kelly