Trump Rules Out Nukes Against Iran, Says MOAB Remains Option for Pickaxe Mountain

President Donald Trump ruled out the use of nuclear weapons against Iran in a Thursday interview with Newsmax, saying the United States “doesn’t have to” and that the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, known as the “Mother of All Bombs,” is not nuclear.

“The mother of all bombs is not nuclear. It’s not nuclear at all. This is just an extremely large bomb. It’s like a tiny nuclear bomb. But the mother of all bombs is one big bomb, but it’s not nuclear,” Trump said. “No, I wouldn’t use nuclear. We don’t have to.”

He added that he does not foresee sending American ground troops into Iran. The comments came after CNN reported that U.S. military planners have developed strike options that include possible use of the MOAB against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites, including the underground facility known as Pickaxe Mountain, where U.S. and Israeli officials believe Iran has stored components of its nuclear program.

Trump specifically addressed Pickaxe Mountain: “Now, we’re looking at Pickaxe Mountain. We may have to go there. We’ll take a shot at that one. We’ll knock it out fast.” He reiterated the administration’s goal of ensuring Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, stating that if Tehran had one, “they would use it, in my opinion, instantaneously.”

The United States and Israel conducted earlier strikes on Iranian nuclear sites this year before pausing full combat operations. Trump has continued to emphasize that the conflict will end soon while maintaining the option of additional conventional strikes. He made the remarks as reports circulated of new strike packages that could be executed before or after the U.S. midterm elections.

The MOAB is the largest non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal and was previously used in combat in Afghanistan in 2017. Trump’s clarification distinguishes the conventional munition from nuclear weapons amid speculation about escalation options against Iranian targets.