Donald Trump is believed to have backed down from military action against Iran, paving the way for diplomatic talks, after realising that a nuclear strike may have been the only way to completely destroy the buried Fordow enrichment plant in Iran.
The President is said to have told defence officials it would only make sense for the U.S. to join Israel in striking Iran if its ‘bunker buster’ bombs are guaranteed to be able to destroy the key enrichment site, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Officials were said to have been told that the U.S. would have to soften the ground with conventional bombs before dropping a tactical nuclear weapon from a B2 Bomber to completely destroy the site, believed to be some 90 metres underground.
But Trump is said to have ruled out nuking Iran, insiders told the Guardian. The possibility was said not to have been raised by defence secretary Pete Hegseth or chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Dan Caine during recent meetings in the Situation Room.
Fox News then reported that the White House had refuted the entire Guardian report, indicating that the use of a nuclear weapon had not yet been ruled out. The future of the region hangs in the balance as diplomats scramble to find another solution.
Trump said late on Thursday that he will now decide in the next two weeks whether to join in military action against Iran, before British and European diplomats were to meet with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva on Friday.
Russia warned today that any use of tactical nuclear weapons in Iran would be ‘catastrophic’ amid fears it could spark wider conflict across the Middle East.
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