From the Liveblog of
Monday, November 2, 2026
Far-right conspiracist Tucker Carlson: Netanyahu pushing Trump to nuke Iran; hundreds of millions will die
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Far-right commentator and conspiracy theorist Tucker Carlson claims that the United States, under pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, could soon launch a nuclear strike against Iran, amid reports that fighting could soon flare back up again after months of relative calm.
“Under pressure from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Trump administration may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran,” Carlson claims in a lengthy post on X. “The target would be Pickax Mountain in central Iran, where Israeli intelligence claims the Iranian government has restarted its nuclear enrichment program.”
“No conventional weapon in the American arsenal can penetrate 300 feet of solid granite to destroy the tunnels where enrichment is supposedly taking place,” declares Carlson, who has garnered criticism from former conservative allies for his frequent antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric.
“The only military option is a nuclear strike. Netanyahu has been pushing hard for one. ‘Bibi calls Trump about it every day,’ says an informed observer,” Carlson continues.
He says that Netanyahu is “cornered and desperate” after losing his governing majority in last week’s election. “He can’t form a government unless Trump intervenes directly in Israeli politics…Netanyahu must stay close to Trump. He needs this war.”
He does not explain how he reached the conclusion that renewed war would mean US nuclear strikes, only warning that such a strike would “radically accelerate the destruction” caused by the previous round of fighting across the Middle East and Gulf.
Fallout from a ground explosion at Pickax Mountain would contaminate the Persian Gulf, poisoning the water supply for 100 million people,” Carlson claims. “And those are just some of the immediate consequences for the region. The rest of the world is every bit as exposed. No country other than the United States has ever used a nuclear weapon in war. Some would like to. An American nuclear attack on Iran would set a new precedent.”
“After the first nuclear strike, World War Three is inevitable. That war would be short and final,” Carlson prophesizes, predicting that “hundreds of millions of people” will be killed “if Trump is pushed by Netanyahu into launching a nuclear strike next week.”
As of Monday afternoon, Israel time, the post had been viewed more than 50 million times.
The Times of Israel Community.