The United States could use nuclear weapons against Iran if it fails to oust the country’s leadership through conventional military means. That assessment comes from Joe Kent, a former counterterrorism adviser to US President Donald Trump, who made the comments to podcaster Tucker Carlson.
Back in April, President Trump had threatened that if Tehran did not accept Washington’s demands, Iran’s “entire civilization would be destroyed.” He has continued to issue similar threats since. Trump has said US forces could destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including power plants and bridges.
Appearing on Tucker Carlson’s program last Friday, Kent said the possibility of nuclear weapons use should be taken seriously. In his words: “It would be foolish to think this couldn’t happen given the current situation.” He said the Trump administration is now struggling to find a way out of this conflict.
Kent said that although Trump has repeatedly shifted his objectives in the conflict with Iran, none of those objectives have yet been achieved. He said nearly all of the United States’ military and economic capacity has been deployed toward this end.
According to Kent, if Washington still wants to remove Iran’s leadership from power and force the country into “complete surrender,” Trump has two options left. One is a full-scale ground invasion, and the other is a nuclear strike.
However, Kent told Carlson that a ground invasion is “in no way realistic,” given Iran’s vast territory and population.
Kent said: “If you think about this situation long enough, the subject of weapons of mass destruction comes up very quickly.” He believes Washington could, in theory, opt for a limited nuclear strike on Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities buried deep in mountainous terrain.
The United States abruptly suspended its latest round of strikes on Iran in late last month. Various media reports had previously said the Pentagon’s stockpile of high-precision weapons and interceptor missiles had been substantially depleted.
However, Trump and several other senior US officials have strongly denied reports of an ammunition shortage. They claim the Pentagon has adequate munitions.
Meanwhile, signaling a shift in strategy in the Iran war, Trump announced last week the launch of what he called a “crushing economic campaign” against Tehran. He named it “Economic D-Day.”
A few days later, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a fresh round of sanctions against Tehran. Roughly 60 entities, individuals and vessels across various countries with trade ties to Iran were placed under the sanctions, including 21 entities based in China.
Scott Bessent said Washington’s goal is to economically isolate Iran, including by taking action against countries that refuse to sever economic ties with Tehran.