WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump ruled out using nuclear weapons against Iran as a way to deliver a decisive blow in a war that's dragged for six months.
Trump dismissed nuclear action as an option and lashed out at the reporter who asked about it during an Oval Office event on Aug. 31.
"I would never say that. But the answer's yes. I rule out ‒ there's no reason for it," Trump said when asked whether he can rule out using a nuclear weapon against Iran. "What a stupid question that is actually is. Here they are, they're totally defeated militarily. So now, I defeat them and now I should use a nuclear weapon on top of them? What a stupid question."
The only time the United
States used nuclear weapons in war was against Japan in 1945 to end World War II, killing more than an estimated 200,000 people and setting off decades of efforts globally to prevent nuclear war.
The Trump administration has given no indication nuclear action is on the table in Iran. Former Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a onetime ally-turned-critic of Trump, this month alleged the Trump administration has discussed using nuclear weapons against Iran in strategy meetings. But Greene did not present evidence backing her claim, and the White House rejected the assertion.
From the beginning of the war, Trump has said the purpose for U.S. military operations against Iran is to ensure Iran never possesses a nuclear weapon. "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. If Iran had a nuclear weapon, Israel would have been wiped out," Trump said on Aug. 31. "And they'd be hitting our cities at some point because they're sick people."
Although Trump ruled out nuclear warfare, the president earlier in the day signaled plans to attack Iran in response to retaliatory strikes Iran carried out against two U.S. bases in Jordan on Aug. 30. The strikes, which were intercepted before hitting the targets in Jordan, came in response to U.S. forces striking two Iranian launchers on Larak Island. It was the first time the United States attacked Iran since July 30.
"We're going to hit them hard," Trump told Fox News, according to reporter Trey Yingst, who spoke to the president by phone. "There will be a response."
The resumption in fighting comes after the Trump administration backed off military operations against Iran for the past month in favor of applying economic pressure through sanctions to try to achieve its aims.
Trump later called Iran "a failed nation" when asked by a reporter whether the new strikes are part of a limited campaign or a return to full-scale military operations. "That doesn't mean we won't smack them. We'll see what happens," Trump said from the Oval Office.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: President Trump rules out using nuclear weapons against Iran
