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United States political commentator Tucker Carlson warned on November 2 that President Donald Trump could be days away from authorizing a nuclear strike against Iran, alleging that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pressuring the administration to attack a deeply buried underground facility near Natanz.
In a lengthy post on X, Carlson identified Pickaxe Mountain in central Iran as the potential target, claiming Israeli intelligence believes Tehran has restarted uranium enrichment activities at the site.
He argued that its tunnels, which he said are buried beneath 300 feet of solid granite, cannot be destroyed by conventional American weapons.
“The only military option is a nuclear strike. Netanyahu has been pushing hard for one,” Carlson wrote, adding that an unnamed source familiar with the matter had told him: “Bibi calls Trump about it every day.”
Carlson said Trump could decide whether to use nuclear weapons by November 7, while alleging that Netanyahu’s pressure campaign was connected to his increasingly precarious political position following Israel’s recent parliamentary elections.
Netanyahu’s bloc secured 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, falling short of the 61 needed for a parliamentary majority and setting the stage for difficult coalition negotiations.
Carlson further alleged that senior members of the Trump administration, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Central Command commander Adm. Brad Cooper, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, were pushing for renewed military operations against Iran.
He also claimed Netanyahu had unsuccessfully sought support from the United Arab Emirates for another major attack on Iran.
The commentator warned that a nuclear strike could have consequences far beyond Iran, potentially contaminating the Persian Gulf and encouraging other nuclear-armed states to consider using their arsenals. He argued that a U.S. first-use nuclear attack could create a precedent for Russia, Pakistan, India and North Korea to employ nuclear weapons in their own conflicts.
Carlson said Trump was still considering a diplomatic solution, crediting Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff with advocating an agreement with Tehran.
“At the moment, Trump is listening to his vice president, JD Vance, and to his envoy and friend Steve Witkoff, both of whom argue a deal with Iran can be made,” he wrote.
The warning from Carlson comes as Washington and Tehran continue indirect negotiations through Qatari mediators in Doha.
Trump has said the U.S. would not launch new attacks before the November 3 congressional midterm elections, but has not ruled out renewed military action afterward. U.S. officials have also warned regional allies to prepare for possible strikes and Iranian retaliation.
Pickaxe Mountain is a heavily fortified underground complex near Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility. Satellite imagery analysis published in September by the Center for Strategic and International Studies identified a significant increase in construction activity at the site during 2026. However, the analysis said available imagery could neither confirm nor disprove Israeli intelligence reports that centrifuges had been moved there, and suggested the facility might not yet be capable of uranium enrichment.
Carlson acknowledged that reaching an agreement with Tehran would be difficult, arguing that the Islamic Republic’s leadership had become more hardline following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family in February.
He said decades of isolation had also left even relatively moderate Iranian officials struggling to understand Western decision-making, noting what he described as a widespread belief in Tehran that Washington effectively controls Israel.
Nevertheless, Carlson argued that Iranian decision-makers recognized the dangers of renewed fighting and were prepared to pursue a diplomatic settlement.
Citing people who had spoken with Iranian officials, he said there was a consensus in Tehran that further war would be harmful to all sides and that reaching an agreement was worthwhile.
He concluded by warning that the consequences of a nuclear strike would extend far beyond Iran, potentially killing hundreds of millions of people and triggering a global catastrophe. Carlson argued that ordinary people around the world, whose lives would be at stake, had been excluded from discussions over the prospect of a nuclear attack.
“Now would be the time for them to speak up,” he concluded.
The warning comes amid numerous reports that the U.S. and Israel are preparing to resume military operations against Iran. Even if Trump decides against using nuclear weapons, Israel could independently resort to a nuclear strike, given its sizeable undeclared nuclear arsenal.
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perché l’iran non esce dal trattato di non proliferazione nucleare, se ha l’atomica nessuno l’attacca, e perché non taglia i cavi sottomarini intercontinentali.