Tucker Carlson Claims Netanyahu Is Pushing Trump Toward Nuclear Strike on Iran, Raising Fears of Antisemitic Backlash

Controversial conservative commentator Tucker Carlson has ignited a new controversy by alleging that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is pressuring President Donald Trump to authorize a nuclear attack on Iran within days, a sensational claim for which Carlson has offered no independently verifiable evidence. His allegations, which portray Netanyahu as driving American military policy for personal political reasons, have raised concerns about the potential for such rhetoric to fuel antisemitic conspiracy theories.

In a lengthy statement posted on X, Carlson claimed that the Trump administration was approaching a decision on whether to deploy nuclear weapons against an Iranian underground nuclear facility known as Pickaxe Mountain, located near Natanz.

“Under pressure from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Trump administration may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran,” Carlson wrote.

Carlson alleged that Netanyahu has been repeatedly lobbying Trump to attack the heavily fortified facility, which Israeli intelligence reportedly suspects could be used for renewed Iranian uranium enrichment.

“Bibi calls Trump about it every day,” Carlson wrote, quoting an unnamed individual he described as familiar with the situation.

The commentator argued that the underground installation is protected by approximately 300 feet of granite, making it impossible for conventional American weapons to destroy the tunnels beneath the mountain. On that basis, he asserted that “The only military option is a nuclear strike.”

Although the facility’s depth presents a significant military challenge, Carlson’s assertion that nuclear weapons represent the only available option has not been established. A September analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies concluded that Pickaxe Mountain would be extremely difficult to destroy using conventional American bunker-busting weapons, but it did not recommend nuclear weapons as the solution.

The same analysis found substantial construction activity at the site during 2026, while cautioning that available satellite imagery could neither confirm nor disprove intelligence claims that Iran had moved uranium enrichment equipment into the underground complex.

Carlson went further by suggesting that Netanyahu’s alleged determination to escalate the conflict is connected to his political difficulties following Israel’s recent elections.

“Netanyahu must stay close to Trump. He needs this war,” Carlson wrote.

He suggested that Netanyahu could face renewed legal jeopardy if he lost power and claimed that continued military confrontation with Iran would help the Israeli leader maintain his political position.

Carlson also named several senior American officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, U.S. Central Command commander Brad Cooper, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, alleging that they were aligned with Netanyahu’s approach to Iran.

The allegations present Netanyahu as exercising extraordinary influence over Washington’s most consequential national security decisions. Critics of such rhetoric warn that claims of secret Israeli control over American leaders can echo longstanding antisemitic conspiracy theories, particularly when presented without substantiating evidence.

Carlson additionally claimed that Netanyahu secretly traveled to Abu Dhabi on September 27 in an unsuccessful effort to persuade the United Arab Emirates to support another military operation against Iran. He provided no independently verifiable documentation establishing that such a meeting occurred.

He also asserted that the Trump administration had altered American nuclear doctrine since February to make the first use of tactical nuclear weapons easier, another allegation that has not been publicly substantiated.

According to Carlson, the administration could reach a decision on nuclear action by November 7.

“Close observers say Trump is likely to decide by next weekend whether or not to use nuclear weapons,” he wrote.

Carlson warned that an American nuclear strike could contaminate the Persian Gulf, threaten regional water supplies, and create a dangerous precedent for other nuclear-armed countries. He further alleged that Russia had signaled that American nuclear action against Iran could provide justification for Moscow to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine.