Donald Trump is 'considering' launching a nuclear strike on Iran to destroy its Pickaxe Mountain lair, a former CIA agent has claimed.
asserted
agent → consider → lair
John Kiriakou, who worked at the Central Intelligence Agency from 1990 to 2004, warned the US President was seeking to 'break' the 'final taboo' around dropping nuclear bombs.
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President → work → bombs
The former spy claimed Mr Trump wanted to ensure future presidents 'feel empowered' to use America's arsenal of ultimate weapons more liberally.
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presidents → claim → weapons
His comments come after Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News presenter and Maga whisperer, claimed Trump 'may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran'.
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Trump → come → Iran
'I've heard the same thing from my own contacts at the White House, that the President is considering the use of a tactical nuclear weapon against Pickaxe Mountain so it will penetrate to the point that it will destroy everything that's underground,' Mr Kiriakou told Piers Morgan Uncensored.
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Kiriakou → hear → Morgan
'But more than that, he wants to break that final taboo - and I'm told that's the word he is using: "the final taboo" - so that future presidents would feel empowered to use a nuclear weapon.
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presidents → want → weapon
I think it's crazy.'
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it → think → ?
Such weapons have not been used in anger since the end of the Second World War, when America used nuclear bombs to level the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
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America → use → 1945
In the past, Iran has openly discussed plans to build centrifuges to support its nuclear enrichment efforts at Pickaxe Mountain.
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Iran → discuss → Mountain
The complex is also estimated to be large enough to house an enrichment plant.
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complex → estimate → plant
Although its true purpose remains shrouded in mystery.
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purpose → remain → mystery
Donald Trump is allegedly considering using nuclear weapons, a former CIA agent has claimed
The Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility is hidden deep in central Iran (pictured in June 2026)
Conventional bunker-buster bombs have so far struggled to cause enough damage to Iran's mountain facility, which is deep underground.
uncertain
which → consider → facility
The deployment of a smaller tactical nuke, like the air-launched 400 kiloton B61-11, could pack enough punch to destroy the facility.
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deployment → launch → facility
Fears the US was about to nuke Iran deepened overnight after a nuclear strike warning was broadcast by Iranian state TV.
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warning → nuke → TV
In the broadcast, Iranians were warned that in the event of a nuclear blast to 'take shelter behind a barrier, lie on the ground and cover your head and face' and not to look at 'intense flash'.
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Iranians → warn → flash
Once the blast wave passed, the public was urged to 'enter the nearest building' and to not 'stay to watch or take photos' of the blast's aftermath, Saudi Arabian news agency Al Arabiya, reported.
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agency → pass → aftermath
It added people should take shelter for 24 hours and wait for official announcements giving the all clear.
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people → add → clear
As concerns continue to grow, there was a palpable sense of fury in Tehran, with Iranians taking to the streets of the capital on Tuesday morning, holding signs declaring: 'Trump must die'.
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Trump → continue → signs
A large billboard in Enghelab Square also showed a mocked-up image of Trump behind bars, with the words 'We will kill Trump' emblazoned upon it.
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We → show → it
Dropping nuclear bombs on Iran would be an extraordinary step by America, with the claims widely derided.
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claims → drop → America
The radioactive fallout could spread hundreds of miles across the Middle East.
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fallout → spread → East
John Kiriakou, who worked at the Central Intelligence Agency from 1990 to 2004, is pictured on Piers Morgan Uncensored
A large billboard in Enghelab Square also showed a mocked-up image of Trump behind bars, with the words 'We will kill Trump' emblazoned upon it.
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We → work → it
Iranians were seen holding signs saying 'Trump must be killed' on Tuesday in Tehran
President Trump previously suggested he had no intention of dropping nuclear bombs on Iran.
'We don't need it.
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We → see → it
Why do I need it?' he said in April, when asked about the prospect of nuking Tehran.
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he → need → Tehran
'Why would a stupid question like that be asked?
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question → ask → that
Why would I use a nuclear weapon where we've totally in a very conventional way decimated them without it.
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we → use → it
'
'A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody,' he added.
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he → allow → anybody
The American leader repeated the stance at the end of August, saying: 'They're totally defeated militarily, so I defeat them, and now I should use a nuclear weapon on top of them? What a stupid question.'
The Pentagon has not said if America is considering the use of tactical nuclear strikes - and Trump has yet to address the latest rumour.
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Trump → repeat → rumour
However, on Monday night, the President did not shy away from the prospect of resuming some form of strike against the underground facility at Pickaxe Mountain, which the US believes Iran might be using to produce weapons-grade uranium.
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Iran → shy → uranium
'We might have to go after Pickaxe, but that's not a big deal,' he told Fox News.
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he → have → News
'We can do it in literally one hour.'
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We → do → hour
Experts have downplayed the chances that Trump would order a nuclear strike on the mountain complex - but they could not rule it out entirely.
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they → downplay → it
No,' Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association (ACA) told TWZ.
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Kimball → tell → TWZ
Is it possible that an unstable desperate president who has sole authority to authorise nuclear weapons use, would do so, yes.
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who → have → use
Given the situation, it is crucial that responsible US voices and international leaders speak out against a massive US strike on Iran of any kind.'
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voices → give → kind
Analysts have claimed it is likely that the US is preparing to launch a third wave of military strikes against Iran.
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US → claim → Iran
In recent weeks, Washington has massed a massive naval strike force in the Arabian Sea, with two heavily-armed carrier strike groups and amphibious assault ships in the region.
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Washington → mass → region
A third carrier strike group, led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt, is also steaming towards the Middle East from the Philippine Sea, accompanied by the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit amphibious assault force.
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group → lead → force
The battle group is expected to arrive in a matter of days, bringing the total number of American sailors and marines in the region to more than 20,000, with more than 20 warships deployed to the region.
President Trump overnight green-lit a limited series of defensive strikes on Iranian targets on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
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Trump → expect → Hormuz
And American F-35C is seen preparing to launch from USS George Washington on Oct 30
US sailors departing an E-2D Hawkeye on the flight deck aircraft carrier USS George Washington on Oct 29
The island is strategically important.
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island → see → Oct
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
