President Donald Trump said the United States is weighing options against Iran's nuclear facilities, including a possible strike on an underground site at Pickaxe Mountain. He spoke to Newsmax.

Trump was asked about reports that the Pentagon was considering the use of the GBU-43/B bomb against Iran's energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities. He said the weapon is not nuclear.

Asked by host Rob Finnerty whether a “tactical nuclear weapon” was among the options, Trump replied: “No, it's not nuclear. The mother of all bombs is a big bomb, but it's not nuclear.”

Pickaxe Mountain and possible ground operations

Trump said Iran is building an underground facility at Pickaxe Mountain. “We're looking at Pickaxe Mountain right now. We may have to go there. We will try to hit it. We will destroy it quickly,” he said.

Asked whether the operation would involve US ground troops, Trump said: “No, I don't foresee that.”

Nuclear program and the war

Trump said the US had already caused heavy damage to Iran's nuclear infrastructure. He argued that withdrawing without eliminating Tehran's ability to obtain a nuclear weapon could require a new military operation in the future. “We can do it. But if we do it, we may have to do it again within a year. We want Iran to never have a nuclear weapon, because in my view, if it had one, it would use it immediately,” he said.

Trump said he expected the war with Iran to end soon. “It will end one way or another. As you know, they are negotiating with us. Yes. But it will end very soon. Oil and gasoline prices will go down,” he said.

Trump also said Iranian officials had asked the US and Israel to halt their military operations. “They asked us to stop. We are stopping because we are negotiating with them,” he said.

Comments on Ukraine and Russia

Asked whether he had lost confidence in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said any compromise with Russia over Ukraine would not be reached with Zelensky. “Zelensky is not a good person for us to deal with. He says he wants a deal, but he doesn't want one. I'm not a big fan of Zelensky,” he said.

Trump said Zelensky recently spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that the call went very badly. He claimed that Putin hates Zelensky and Zelensky hates Putin. “When there is that kind of hatred, it is very hard to resolve anything,” he said.

Trump said the Russia-Ukraine war should never have started and claimed Ukraine had been “destroyed.” He said: “This war would never have happened if the 2020 US presidential election had not been rigged.” These claims were made by Trump and have not been independently verified.

Asked whether the war would end before his term expires, Trump said: “It should end soon. I think both of them want it to end, but I find it harder to deal with Zelensky than with Putin.”

Background

CNN and CBS News had reported that Washington was considering using the GBU-43/B bomb against Iran if Trump authorized a resumption of strikes before or after the midterm elections. In a written statement to CBS News, the White House said Trump had kept all options on the table to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

The GBU-43/B, known as MOAB, weighs about 9,800 kilograms and is considered the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal. It was first used in April 2017, during Trump's first term, against an ISIS tunnel complex in Afghanistan.