Tucker Carlson says Trump could launch nuclear strike on Iran within days under pressure from Netanyahu

Conservative US commentator Tucker Carlson has claimed Israel is pressuring Donald Trump to launch a nuclear strike on Iran as Benjamin Netanyahu looks to stay in power after last week's Israeli elections. "Under pressure from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Trump administration may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran," Carlson wrote in a post on X. "Netanyahu is cornered and desperate… Netanyahu must stay close to Trump. He needs this war.” The US commentator, who has grown increasingly critical of the Israeli government and unconditional US support in the past two years, didn’t provide any evidence to back up his claims but cited an “informed observer”.Carlson made the comments in a post on X (The Tucker Carlson Show/YouTube)He claimed such a strike would likely take place on Pickaxe Mountain.Trump has repeatedly threatened to bomb the mountain in central Iran, which Washington believes may host an underground nuclear site, amid claims that some of Tehran’s stock of highly enriched uranium may be stored there. Carlson claimed conventional US weapons could not strike deep enough to hit the supposed underground tunnels where nuclear enrichment allegedly could be taking place. “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,” he wrote. “After last week’s election results, he can’t form a government unless Trump intervenes directly in Israeli politics and brokers a deal with other parties that gives Netanyahu 61 seats in the Knesset. Otherwise, he is out as prime minister and on his way to ignominy, investigations and possibly jail.”An aerial view shows a campaign billboard depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party and President Donald Trump in Tel Aviv (AFP/Getty)The US and Israel have not confirmed that a strike has been considered, and Trump has previously ruled out using nuclear weapons in Iran, stating in a 16 October interview with Newsmax that he “wouldn’t use nuclear” and that Washington doesn’t “have to”. But the US president has hinted that he will resume strikes on Iran as soon as the midterms are over. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the Trump administration has told several Gulf allies to prepare for a shortcut intense round of strikes potentially as soon as 4 November, the day after the midterms conclude. It was the latest in a series of indications that Washington is readying itself for a resumption of war with Iran, after the US and Israel first launched the war on 28 February, causing major disruption to the world economy and global oil flows. US forces have been rearming in the region, with an additional aircraft-carrier strike group set to join 20 other warships in the Middle East, the outlet reported. The war is deeply and increasingly unpopular in the US, with around two third of Americans (65 per cent) disapproving of the way Trump has handled the military action in Iran, while 33 per cent approve, according to research by the Pew Research Center in October. It has also been extremely costly for the US, with the costs estimated at $47.1 billion as of mid-October, not including damage to US bases across the region.