Trump Rules Out Nuclear Strike on Iran: “There’s No Reason for It. It’s a Stupid Question”

President Donald Trump ruled out the possibility of using nuclear weapons against Iran last night (Monday), but made clear that the campaign against it could continue. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said Tehran had been militarily defeated and stressed that the central goal of U.S. action is to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Near the end of the event, Trump was asked directly whether he would use nuclear weapons against Iran: “Usually I don’t say something like this, but the answer is yes. I rule it out; there’s no reason for it.”

Trump also criticized the very suggestion: “It’s actually a stupid question. They are completely defeated militarily. So after I defeated them, now I’m supposed to drop nuclear weapons on them too? What a stupid question.”

During the interview, Trump said: “Iran is a failed country. They have 350% inflation. They have no currency. They’re not paying their soldiers. Their leaders are mostly dead. Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Their radar is almost completely gone,” he said. Still, he did not rule out further action: “That doesn’t mean we won’t hit them. We’ll see what happens.”

He later addressed the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, calling it “extraordinarily good.” According to Trump, “We’re averaging 30 ships a night. A lot of oil is getting out. That’s why you haven’t seen the price of oil soar the way they thought it would.”

Even when asked about oil prices, the president tied the developments to the campaign in Iran. He said the public “knows we had to go into Iran,” and that prices “went up only because of Iran.” He added: “Iran was called the bully of the Middle East for a reason. It’s no longer the bully.”

Trump emphasized that “Iran will never have nuclear weapons. That’s what this is all about. It’s not about anything else.” According to him, “If Iran had nuclear weapons, Israel would be wiped out. You wouldn’t have Israel now, and you probably wouldn’t have a Middle East either. And at some point they would hit our cities, because they are sick people.”

Asked who currently holds control in Tehran after negotiations were halted, he replied: “They really don’t know. In my opinion, they don’t know who the leader is. There are extremists there, but militarily they’ve been wiped out, because the military is only a fraction of what it was.”

Trump was also asked about reports that commanders in the U.S. military had warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth against a broad and prolonged operation in Iran. Trump dismissed the concern: “This is a relatively small war for us. It’s not a big war.”

According to Trump, the United States has ammunition and weapons stockpiles around the world, allowing it to transfer resources from other locations if necessary. He added that the U.S. had used “very little, relatively speaking” in the campaign in Iran, and that it is in “very good shape.”

“Nobody will mess with us,” Trump declared, later adding: “We went into Iran, and we’re hitting them relentlessly and doing a good job.”