US could use nuclear weapons against Iran: ex-Trump adviser

The United States could use nuclear weapons against Iran if it fails to overthrow the country’s leadership through conventional military means, Joe Kent, a former counterterrorism adviser to US President Donald Trump, has told podcaster Tucker Carlson.

In April, Trump threatened that Iran’s “entire civilization” could be destroyed if Tehran refused to comply with Washington’s demands. He has continued to issue similar threats, saying US forces could target Iran’s power plants, bridges and other civilian infrastructure.

Appearing on Tucker Carlson’s program last Friday, Kent said the possibility of a nuclear strike should be taken seriously.

“In the current situation, it would be foolish to think that such a thing is impossible,” Kent said. He added that the Trump administration was struggling to find a way out of the conflict.

According to Kent, Trump has repeatedly changed his objectives in the conflict with Iran but has so far failed to achieve any of them. He said the United States had already used much of its military and economic capabilities in the conflict.

Kent said that if Washington still wanted to remove Iran’s leadership and force the country into “complete surrender,” Trump would have two options: a full-scale ground invasion or a nuclear attack.

However, Kent told Carlson that a ground invasion was “in no way realistic” because of Iran’s vast territory and large population.

“If you think about this situation long enough, the issue of weapons of mass destruction comes up very quickly,” Kent said. He suggested that Washington could theoretically consider limited nuclear strikes against uranium-enrichment facilities located deep beneath Iran’s mountainous regions.

At the end of last month, the United States suddenly suspended its latest round of attacks on Iran. Earlier, several media reports had claimed that the Pentagon’s stocks of precision-guided weapons and interceptor missiles had fallen significantly.

Trump and several other senior US officials have strongly denied reports of an ammunition shortage, insisting that the Pentagon has sufficient supplies.

Meanwhile, signaling a possible shift in strategy, Trump last week announced a “crushing economic campaign” against Tehran, which he called “Economic D-Day.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington’s goal was to economically isolate Iran by taking action against countries that refuse to sever their economic ties with Tehran. Source RT.