Trump rules out using a nuclear bomb on Iran: Why that matters

What the report says

U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly ruled out using a nuclear weapon against Iran, according to Al Jazeera, while leaving open the possibility of a major conventional strike. In a Newsmax interview published Thursday, Trump said he would not use nuclear arms and described the U.S. as the world’s leading nuclear power, but he did not deny reports that his administration may be weighing deployment of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, known as the MOAB or “mother of all bombs.”

Al Jazeera reported that Trump’s comments were his first clear statement on the nuclear question during the conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran. He also said the MOAB is not nuclear and declined to confirm whether he had authorized its use. The article said he suggested further attacks on Iranian nuclear sites could come soon, including at Pickaxe Mountain, where Tehran is believed to have hidden a facility underground. Trump also rejected the idea of putting U.S. troops on the ground.

The story places the remarks in the wider context of escalating rhetoric over Iran’s nuclear program and the possibility of a new phase in the war. It notes that Trump has previously made sweeping threats against Iran, including references that analysts interpreted as hints of nuclear destruction, though he had not explicitly addressed nuclear use until now.

Al Jazeera said the distinction matters because the MOAB is an extremely large conventional weapon, not a nuclear one, but questions remain about whether it would be effective against deeply buried targets in Iran. The reporting also highlighted the broader risk of further strikes, regional retaliation and pressure on oil shipping routes in the Gulf.