New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed a reporter’s question about whether he had ruled out using a nuclear weapon against Iran, calling it a “stupid question” during an Oval Office exchange that has since gone viral online.
NewsNation White House correspondent Libby Dean asked Trump: “Have you ruled out using a nuclear weapon on Iran?” Trump initially replied, “I would never say that, but the answer is yes. There is no reason for it.”
He then turned combative, saying, “They are totally defeated militarily, so I defeat them, and now I should use a nuclear weapon on top of them? What a stupid question.” Trump then thanked the assembled reporters and told them to leave, before Dean could ask her follow-up question about Flock cameras.
Trump’s claim of Iran’s ‘defeat’
The episode unfolded against the backdrop of a conflict that has now stretched into its sixth month, with the United States and Iran exchanging fresh strikes over the weekend for the first time in a month.
Trump’s claim that Iran has been “totally defeated militarily” has drawn scrutiny. Despite subsequent US and Israeli bombardment, Iran continues to control the Strait of Hormuz, continually showing that it is capable of military retaliation, even as the war drags into the sixth month without any resolution in sight.
That gap between Trump’s rhetoric and the continuing hostilities has become a point of criticism, as the administration continues to frame the war as approaching an endpoint.
Trump says nuclear weapons are off the table
Trump has been consistent on the underlying point, even if prickly about the phrasing.
In April, he said he would not use a nuclear weapon against Iran, arguing that nuclear weapons “should never be allowed to be used by anybody.” On Monday, he again returned to what he has described as the central objective of the conflict: preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, adding that this was fundamentally “what it’s all about.”
More strikingly, Trump’s blanket dismissal of the nuclear question comes at a point where reports show that his own Pentagon has actually considered it. Former Trump administration official Joe Kent has said strategy meetings have included discussion of using nuclear weapons against Iran — “Yes, you read that correctly. It’s real. I’m not speculating; I know. And it’s pure evil,” Kent said, calling it “a terrible option.”
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Trump says Iran was nearing a nuclear weapon
Trump also told Fox News on Monday that he had launched “Operation Epic Fury”, aimed at Iran because it was nearing the development of a nuclear weapon that could ultimately be used against Israel.
“We would probably be next,” Trump said.
He also waved off concerns over high US gas prices, predicting they would fall once the war was “completely” won.
Critics are, however, dismissing what they claim to be the Trump administration’s blatant doublespeak. Especially because Iran is hardly playing the role of the wounded party.
Dean, for her part, has clashed with Trump before — he admonished her in April for interrupting one of his answers on Iran, telling her: “We’ve had a lot of problems with you, haven’t we?”
Monday’s exchange, which was widely clipped and shared online, including by outlets such as Brut, has become the latest flashpoint of the Trump administration.
(Edited by Maryam Hassan)