President Donald Trump is facing an extraordinary new controversy after former ally Tucker Carlson claimed the White House could be days away from deciding whether to launch a nuclear strike against Iran.
The explosive allegation has ignited a political firestorm, drawing attention from Trump critics and conservative commentators alike as questions mount over the president’s next move in the Middle East.
In a lengthy statement posted to X, Carlson alleged that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was aggressively lobbying Trump to use nuclear weapons against Pickax Mountain, a fortified Iranian complex believed to be associated with Tehran’s nuclear program.
Carlson claimed the president could make a decision by November 7, just days after Tuesday’s midterm elections.
“Netanyahu has been pushing hard for one,” Carlson wrote, citing an unnamed observer who claimed the Israeli prime minister contacts Trump about the issue daily.
The warning quickly attracted attention beyond Carlson’s conservative audience.
CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour was among the prominent figures reacting, while Trump critic George Conway reportedly urged his followers not to dismiss the allegations.
The Bulwark’s Tim Miller similarly acknowledged Carlson’s controversial track record while raising questions about his connections to individuals close to the administration.
Their reactions highlight an unusual development: a former Trump loyalist’s extraordinary warning is attracting serious discussion among some of the president’s political opponents.
But Carlson has offered no publicly verifiable evidence that Trump is preparing to authorize a nuclear attack, and his allegations have not been independently confirmed.
The president himself has publicly rejected the nuclear option.
During an October 15 interview with Newsmax, Trump declared, “I wouldn’t use nuclear. We don’t have to. We’re the greatest nuclear power in the world.”
Trump has nevertheless raised the possibility of additional conventional military action against Iran, including strikes targeting its deeply buried nuclear infrastructure.
According to Mediaite, Carlson argued that the Pickax Mountain complex is so heavily protected that conventional American weapons would be insufficient to destroy it.
The commentator also alleged that Trump’s own advisers are divided over the path forward.
He claimed Vice President JD Vance and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff favor continued negotiations with Tehran, while other senior officials are pushing for renewed military action.
Those alleged internal divisions have not been independently verified.
The controversy also exposes the increasingly bitter divide between Trump and Carlson, whose opposition to the Iran war has transformed him from a prominent presidential ally into one of the administration’s most outspoken conservative critics.
As the president weighs his next steps, Carlson’s dramatic prediction has placed fresh scrutiny on the White House’s military strategy.
