Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson has claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pressuring U.S. President Donald Trump to resume the war against Iran, potentially including a nuclear strike on an underground Iranian facility.
Carlson, once a supporter of Trump but now a vocal critic, made the allegations in a post on X on Sunday. He suggested that Trump could order an attack on Iran’s underground “Pickaxe Mountain” facility, located near Natanz, as early as this week.
According to Carlson, Netanyahu believes his political survival depends on restarting the conflict following the results of last week’s elections. Carlson claimed that the Israeli prime minister would struggle to form a government without direct U.S. intervention in his favor.
The United States has previously attacked Iranian nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan. However, the Pickaxe Mountain site has not been targeted in those operations.
The facility is believed to be located deep beneath a mountain, potentially at a greater depth than the underground complex at Fordow. Its location and geological protection have raised questions about the ability of conventional weapons to destroy it.
Trump has previously suggested that an attack on the site could be considered. However, he has publicly ruled out using nuclear weapons against Iran.
“I would not use nuclear weapons. We don’t need to. We are the greatest nuclear power in the world,” Trump said earlier this month, according to the report.
Instead, he has suggested that the United States could use the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, commonly known as the “Mother of All Bombs.”
Carlson also alleged that several senior U.S. officials are supporting Netanyahu’s position, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command. He further claimed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio supports the idea of nuclear strikes against Iran.
In his post, Carlson argued that no conventional weapon in the U.S. arsenal could penetrate the rock protecting the facility and destroy the tunnels where uranium enrichment is allegedly taking place.
“The only military option is a nuclear strike,” Carlson claimed, adding that Netanyahu was applying intense pressure on Trump and calling him daily about the issue.
Carlson attributed the claim about Netanyahu’s calls to an unnamed source he described as well-informed.
The allegations have not been independently substantiated. Carlson’s statements do not establish that the Trump administration is considering a nuclear strike or that the officials he named support such an operation.
