Trump considered nuclear option against Iran, journalist Seymour Hersh claims
Quick Look
- Seymour Hersh reports Donald Trump discussed using nuclear weapons against Iran's missile sites with administration officials, expressing frustration and desperation.
- He was reportedly talked out of the escalation.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh reported on his Substack blog that US President Donald Trump recently discussed the possibility of using nuclear weapons against Iran with his administration officials. The conversations reportedly focused on strikes against underground missile production sites.
US President Donald Trump recently floated the nuclear option regarding Iran in conversations with his administration officials, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative US journalist Seymour Hersh said on his blog on Substack.
According to him, nuclear weapons were mentioned in a conversation with high-ranking members of the Trump administration that occurred earlier this week.
The talk centered around strikes on underground missile production sites in Iran, and, in the course of the talks, the US leader asked whether using nuclear weapons to destroy some of these facilities "was doable."
Hersh wrote that at least one of those taking part in the meeting was shocked that an American president would talk so casually about the possibility of unleashing a nuclear war in the Middle East. In his words, Trump looked frustrated and angry during the conversation and, at that point, looked "desperate not to lose in Iran."
The US president’s idea was to warn Iran that Washington was "very seriously" considering such an option. Apparently, Hersh wrote, Trump was talked out of any thought of a nuclear escalation.
Open Questions
- What specific underground missile production sites were discussed?
- Who exactly within the administration was present during these conversations?
- What were the precise arguments used to dissuade Trump from considering nuclear escalation?
- Has there been any official response or denial from the Trump administration or the current US administration regarding these claims?
